Why are the Iran-backed Houthis targeting Yemeni tribes?

The Iran-backed Houthis are persisting in their systematic campaign against Yemeni tribes, having recently intensified their attacks on the tribes of Qifah, Bani Matar, Khawlan, Hamdan, Ibb, Amran, Dhamar, Hajjah, and Al-Mahwit, as part of a plan aimed at undermining the tribal structure and bringing it under their complete control. In addition, the Houthis are working to incite tribes against one another, particularly the Sanhan tribe, where Houthi supervisors insisted on humiliating a tribal gathering of Khawlan leaders and forced them to end their sit-in.

In this context, the militia's operations are escalating, including arbitrary arrests, widespread raids, imposing a siege on residents, and displacing many of them, reflecting an increase in repression against these areas.

In Bani Matar, Khawlan, Amran, and Ibb, the militia is attempting to impose loyal supervisors in place of traditional leaders, in an effort to erase tribal identity and dismantle its social fabric. Meanwhile, the tribes of Sanhan, Khawlan, Arhab, and Bani Harith are experiencing heightened tension due to the Houthis' movements aimed at igniting internal conflicts and sowing discord among the tribes.

Sources said that Houthi have a new plan targeting prominent tribal figures loyal to them, described as having "two faces," including Sheikh Faris Al-Habari, Sheikh Nayef Al-Awaj, and Ahmed Al-Dhahab. The militia plans to eliminate them either through direct assassinations or by fabricating charges that justify subjecting them to sham trials. This campaign is part of the Houthis' efforts to weaken influential tribal leadership and silence any opposing voices to their policies.

Observers confirm that targeting tribal leaders represents a dangerous step in the Houthis' series of attempts to control the tribes, as the militia seeks to tighten its grip on these areas by undermining the role of tribal leadership and replacing it with leaders who owe them absolute loyalty.

Tribal sources warned of the continuation of this plan and the targeting that could herald armed confrontations, threatening to ignite new conflicts that complicate the already tense Yemeni situation.

A number of tribal leaders have called for urgent intervention to stop this systematic targeting and to protect tribal identity from the attempts at erasure and dismantling led by the Houthi militia, amid growing fears that these violations are part of a broader scheme to dismantle Yemeni society and reshape it according to the Houthis' agenda.