Yemen: Houthis execute 9 over key leader's killing
September 18, 2021
The Shiite militants' top court had sentenced the nine over the 2018 death of Saleh al-Samad, the most senior Houthi leader to be killed by the Saudi-led coalition.
Saleh al-Samad's death dealt a major blow to the HouthisImage: Hani Al-Ansi/dpa/picture alliance
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Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said Saturday they executed nine people for their alleged involvement in the assassination of a senior member of the Shiite militant group.
Saleh al-Samad, the former head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, and several escorts were killed in a 2018 airstrike by the Saudi-led military coalition fighting Houthis in Yemen.
He was the highest-ranking Houthi member to be killed by the coalition in the years-long war.
The Saudi-led military alliance had claimed responsibility for the strike that killed al-Samad in April 2018Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Huwais
Houthis had also accused the nine executed Saturday of spying for the Saudi-led coalition.
Last month, a Houthi top court confirmed the rulings against the nine, including a 17-year-old boy, defense lawyers said.
Months after al-Samad's killing, the nine had been forcefully disappeared and suffered inhumane treatment, according to a Yemeni lawyer representing one of them.
A public execution
Houthi rebels distributed photos apparently showing the fire-squad executions of the nine people.
The public executions were carried out in the rebel-held capital of Sanaa, according to the Shiite militants.
Hundreds of people, mostly Houthi rebels and their supporters, attended the executions, which were also broadcast on big screens early Saturday in Sanaa's Tahrir Square.
Wearing sky blue prison garb, the nine had their hands bound behind their backs as masked guards forced them to lie down on their stomachs before another man shot them.
The executions and their display caused outrage from international rights groups as well as by people in Yemen, including Sanaa, where locals refrain from criticizing the rebels for fear of reprisals.
Houthi rebels took control of Sanaa in late 2014
What is the situation in Yemen?
Since 2014, Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war as Houthis swept across much of the north and seized Sanaa.
Yemen has struggled to cope with crises prompted by its atrocious civil war, including catastrophic hunger and devastating cholera outbreaks. DW examines the conflict and how it affects the country's civilian population.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
War: The 'root cause' of Yemen's disasters
The UN has identified conflict as the "root cause" of Yemen's crises. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the war erupted in 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels launched a campaign to capture the capital, Sanaa. In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition launched a deadly campaign against the rebels, one that has been widely criticized by human rights groups for its high civilian death toll.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
Fighting keeps food from the famished
The conflict has prevented humanitarian aid from reaching large parts of the civilian population, resulting in more than two-thirds of the country's 28 million people being classified as "food insecure." Nearly 3 million children and pregnant or nursing women are acutely malnourished, according to the UN World Food Program.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
Displacement: Converging crises
More than 3 million people have been displaced by conflict, including marginalized communities such as the "Muhammasheen," a minority tribe that originally migrated from Africa. Despite the civil war, many flee conflict in Somalia and head to Yemen, marking the convergence of two major migration crises in the Middle East nation. Yemen hosts around 250,000 Somali refugees, according to UNHCR.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
Cholera: A deadly epidemic
The number of suspected cholera cases has exceeded more than 2 million and least 3,700 people have died from the waterborne bacterial infection in Yemen since October 2019, said the WHO. Although cholera can be easily treated, it can kill within hours when untreated.
Image: Reuters/K. Abdullah
Unsuspecting victims of the'war on terror'
In Yemen, violence goes beyond civil conflict: It is considered a strategic front in the war on terrorism. The country serves as the operational base for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, dubbed the "most dangerous" terrorist group before the rise of the "Islamic State." The US routinely uses drones to target al-Qaida leadership. However, civilians have often been killed in the operations.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Y. Arhab
Children's fate: Future marred by tragedy
In a country paralyzed by conflict, children are one of the most at-risk groups in Yemen. More than 12 million children require humanitarian aid, according to the UN humanitarian coordination agency. The country's education system is "on the brink of collapse," while children are dying of "preventable causes like malnutrition, diarrhea and respiratory tract infections," according to the agency.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
Peace: An elusive future
Despite several attempts at UN-backed peace talks, the conflict continues to rage on. Saudi Arabia has vowed to continue supporting the internationally recognized government of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. On the other hand, Houthi rebels have demanded the formation of a unity government in order to move forward on a political solution. A peace deal, however, remains elusive.
