The killing of a tribal leader in Sana’a

AL-MUKALLA: Unidentified gunmen killed a tribal leader in the latest episode of a series of shootings and attacks in Houthi-held Sanaa on Sunday evening.
According to local media and his relatives, Nasser Abdullah Tamah al-Kumaim, a tribal leader and businessman from Thamar province, was shot dead by assailants fleeing in front of his house.
The Houthis have not commented on the assassination, but they often attribute such incidents to family feuds or accuse their rivals of carrying out the attacks and trying to undermine security in their region.
Al-Kumaim, a member of the General People’s Congress party, is the latest victim in a series of deadly car attacks targeting politicians, judges, activists, academics and government officials, as well as the army and security forces in Sanaa.
Former Yemeni ambassador to Ethiopia and retired military commander Major General Dirham Noman was killed there in October. Brigadier General Abdullah Muhammad al-Kibsi, a supporter of the Houthis and a former member of parliament, was shot in front of his house in Al-Hasaba neighborhood in September. Supreme Court judge Mohammad Hamran was killed shortly after being abducted by a group of armed men in front of his house in August last year.
In 2020, armed men shot the Houthis’ Minister of Youth and Sports Hasan Zaidi while driving his car in Sanaa.
The Houthis boast of bringing peace and stability to Sana’a and other areas of Yemen they control, ending bombings and killings. However, the killings came as the Houthis intensified their crackdown on their critics, mainly online commentators. They are also prosecuting scores of abducted Yemenis who allegedly criticized the militias’ brutal regime, failure to pay civil servants and to end hunger.
Meanwhile, near the central city of Marib, heavy fighting between government forces and the Houthis has taken place over the past 72 hours, leaving scores of fighters dead and wounded.
Yemeni army spokesman Major General Abdu Abdallah Majili told Arab News on Monday that the Houthis have attacked government troops in the south, north and west of the city for the past three days.
“These are the most violent attacks since the end of the (UN-mediated) ceasefire,” said the Chairman of the Assembly. He added that the heaviest fighting took place in the Juba district, south of the city, as the Houthis advanced into government-held areas to approach Marib, the city’s last major urban stronghold. Country.
Thousands of fighters and civilians have been killed since the Houthis launched a massive military offensive to capture the energy-rich city in early 2021. Although they advanced close to the city, they could not conquer the city due to the strong resistance of the military forces and allied tribes with the help of the Arab coalition.
After a United Nations-brokered ceasefire took effect last April, fighting around Marib and other battlefields has decreased significantly. The ceasefire broke down in October after the Houthis refused to extend it, despite appeals from foreign mediators and aid organizations.
Residents in Taiz, in the south of the country, said Houthi snipers wounded two children in the village on Sunday. 11-year-old Abdallah Mohammed al-Faki and 8-year-old Menour Mohammed were shot while playing in front of their house in Sabir district.
Even during the ceasefire, the Houthis did not agree to end the eight-year siege of Taiz, stop firing and attacks.
This text is a translation of an article published on Arabnews.com