Thousands of Houthis, the Shi’ite Muslim militia which controls much of Yemen, are holding military exercises in the northern part of the country near the border with Saudi Arabia, local tribal and Houthi sources said on Thursday.
The drill in al-Buqa area, which lies in the Houthis’ home province of Saada, involves using different kinds of weaponry, including heavy weapons acquired from the Yemeni army, the sources said.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, regards the Iranian-backed Shi’ite group which seized control of the Yemeni capital Sanaa in September as a terrorist group. In 2009, Riyadh carried out a military operation including air raids against the Houthis after a number of cross-border incursions.
“There is a joint maneuver between the army and the Popular Committees,” Houthi commander Mohammad al-Bukheiti told Reuters, referring to the mainly Houthi forces which have fanned out across Yemen since September.
The Yemeni army is divided into factions loyal to different forces, including the current and previous presidents, and have allied themselves with and against the Houthis since their takeover of the capital in September.
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Houthis open fire on protesters in southern Yemen, one dead
Members of the Shi’ite Muslim militia that controls much of Yemen opened fire on hundreds of people protesting at their presence in the southerly city of al-Bayda on Thursday, killing one and wounding eight others, local officials and medical sources said.
The Houthis, who are led by a northern clan of the same name, have in recent months become the de facto rulers of northern Yemen, seizing the capital Sanaa in September and forcing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government to announce their resignations.
The province of al-Bayda, which is mostly Sunni Muslim, is one of several that the Iranian-backed Houthis have effectively taken over since September by sending in gunmen and forcing local officials to cooperate.
A medical source told Reuters one person had died and eight more had been wounded in the shooting at the demonstration.
The Houthis have frequently used firearms or beatings in recent months to suppress protests in towns and cities including the capital.
The Houthi takeover has not only increased sectarian tensions in Yemen but also alienated many who believe Hadi is still the legitimate president, raising the prospect of a civil war.
Hadi came to power in a Gulf-brokered transfer of power following a mass uprising in 2011 against his predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh, and has the backing of the West and Gulf Arab neighbors.
He escaped house arrest in Sanaa last month, and has sought to re-establish his presidency in the southern port city of Aden. U.N.-brokered talks to end the political standoff have had little success so far.
Security in Yemen is an international concern due to the presence of one of the most active wings of al Qaeda and because it shares a long border with top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and overlooks a major global sea-lane.
