By Mohammed Bin Sallam
SA'ADA, April 7 - Unprecedented aggression against the Houthis, and even those neutral in the Sa'ada issue, has escalated in state-run media over the past weeks. Observers and political analysts have attributed this to the possibility of a sixth war against the Houthis in Sa'ada.
State-run media accuses Houthi followers of breaching the truce by attacking soldiers and military checkpoints. They further accuse them of purchasing new weapons, including heavy artillery and rocket-propelled grenades.
For their part, an official Houthi source said that a mediation committee in the district of Ghamir failed to re-establish tranquility in the area, as confrontations have being ongoing between the army and Houthi fighters for over two weeks.
"Ghamir has been a field for government violations," said the Houthi source, alluding to the "hostile tendency" of the head of the district, security forces and mercenaries from government-supporting tribes, who control the district.
"The district has witnessed the establishment of new military sites, and army gunfire from the military sites overlooking the area," said the source. "In addition, the army has set up ambushes which have affected many innocent victims. There was also an attempt to prohibit Houthi supporters from entering the district's market."
The source said that the fighting in Ghamir is a reaction by citizens of the area to "repeated violations by the security and militias, headed by Sheikh Ali Dhafer who supports the government." He confirmed Houthi supporters were able to control a number of sites which were previously held by the army.
The source revealed that a mediation committee has already paid a field visit to Ghamir to monitor "security violations." He pointed out that there were agreements whereby the "Houthi mujahedeen" evacuate the sites that they controlled and, in return, the government army would not repeat the violations that led the Houthis control the area.
"We agreed with the other side [the government army] to allow the mujahedeen [Houthis] to enter the market," said the Houthi source. "The mujahedeen withdrew from the sites that they controlled. However, the other side has not held up its end of the deal and continues to commit violations against citizens." The Houthis media office denied news circulated by the official media that the Houthis had also committed aggressions: "We confirm that it is the security forces and their militias who committed aggressions in the district," reported the office, calling the militias that support the government "hypocrites."
The Houthi media office held the government responsible for the fighting in the district, considering it to announce a sixth war. "What is going on in Ghamir is the beginning of a new war that the government aims to launch," it reports.
"The government doesn't have any option other than war," said the media office. "Real peace doesn't exist in the dictionary of the government except in its media. We choose peace as our sons, daughters, women and children are affected by war."
Sheikh Saleh Habra, political spokesperson for the Houthis, called on citizens in Ghamir and other areas where the government is involved in confrontations with the Houthis to avoid being involved in government conspiracies and not to degrade themselves in that way.
For its part, the website 26september.net reported that a source from the local authority in Sa'ada had said that Houthis attacked Ghamir last week and seized the telecommunications office, and taken control of the market and other public offices. It also said that the Houthis also occupied one of the mosques in the area.
"The [Houthi] elements took over the Ghamir hotel and set fire to it in the context of war preparations," said the source. "In addition, they killed a citizen, kidnapped one of the district's soldiers and continued shooting towards the Al-Khanshna military site. They continue violations including digging fortified trenches, and training their elements in war. They are also storing food supply and fuel."
The source pointed out that exchange of fire between Houthis and a group of Wald 'Aamir tribesmen in Al-Harth market in Ghamir resulted in four civilians being wounded.
It further warned against "involving the governorate in sedition," accusing the Houthis of "committing repeated aggressions in Al-Sawad, Al-Osaimat and the nearby areas, causing over 30 citizens to be killed and 91 injured."
"The Houthis have committed aggressions since the war was declared over, against citizens in Harf Sufian, Wadi Ayyan, Al-Majra'a, Hibasha, Al-Rahwa and Qarn Shared," said the source. "They killed a number of citizens, blocked roads and destructed a number of public constructions and private property." Habra told media outlets that tranquility resumed in the area last Saturday and that a mediation committee is continuing its efforts headed by Sheikh Fares Manna', one of Sa'ada's prominent tribal sheikhs.