A new phase of Houthi authoritarian rule in Yemen

At the end of May 2024 the armed Houthi group in Yemen (also known as Ansar Allah) conducted a new round of raids across the capital Sana’a, forcibly disappearing dozens of Yemenis including activists, researchers, INGO workers and diplomatic staff.

Following the arrests, the Houthis publicly denounced targets inside and outside the country on television. I was among those targeted, accused of being part of a ‘foreigner spying network and implementing foreign agendas in the country’, a charge I reject entirely.

But the arrests and public attacks were not about specific individuals or catching spies. They are intended primarily to intimidate Yemenis and silence dissent. 

This latest wave of arrests is not the first clampdown, but it does herald a new phase, as those detained include some of the Houthis’ own members, illustrating a further narrowing of the scope for dissent. The crackdown is the strongest attempt yet to ‘clean’ Yemeni civil society and crush oppositional voices both inside and outside the country.

In this context, the Houthis feel safe enough to do whatever they want to Yemenis and appear unconcerned about a possible international backlash – even detaining UN employees and giving Yemenis working with INGOs or foreign embassies 30 days to hand over any information or documents to Houthi authorities.

The Houthis do not respect international norms or human rights-based approaches. But there are instances in which they are vulnerable to financial pressure. Notably, they have backed off from similar previous actions on aid INGOs in December 2018 after a serious threat from donors and the World Food Programme to cut aid to areas under the Houthi control.

the Houthi clampdown will damage the UN-led peace process. The last UN-led peace talks were held in Kuwait in 2016.

Since then, various UN envoys have struggled to bring the parties together in an inclusive peace process. The UN’s public silence over the clampdown – and even arrests of their own staff – will further undermine its credibility in any negotiations.

Many of those arrested are people connected with delivery of humanitarian aid – targeted in some cases for exposing the Houthis’ diversion of that aid.

It is clear that doing nothing is not an option. That would allow the Houthis an unobstructed path to further destabilize Yemen, dim prospects for peace, and build a mafia-style state at the heart of the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea. A strategy to exert available forms of diplomatic pressure on the Houthis in order to protect the interests of ordinary Yemenis is the only effective way forward.