SANA’A, Dec. 14—Ongoing clashes between Islah and Houthi supporters in Arhab district of Sana’a governorate ended on Sunday, with Houthis gaining control over the area.

Abduljalil Sinan, the leading sheikh of Arhab district, told the Yemen Times that the situation within the district remained calm as of Monday and that, “The Houthis have set up checkpoints in the district and  control everything.”

Hussein Al-Bukhaiti, a prominent Houthi member and activist, confirmed. “The popular committees have established checkpoints everywhere and are cooperating with security forces in the district—exactly like the popular committees do in Sana’a city.”

Fighting first broke out on Friday, involving local supporters of both the Islah party and the Houthi movement. “The clashes took place in villages under the control of Islah affiliated sheikhs and residents. Areas include: Al-Khamees, Hazam, Al-Rajw, Zandan, Jubar, Al-Arshan, Bait Maran and Bait Al-Haneq villages.” Sinan said that all other areas remained safe and untouched by the fighting. Many “politically neutral” tribesmen refused to get involved,” he said.

“Tribesmen are fed up with political disputes, and are aware of their consequences,” he said. “We’ve seen hundreds of families become displaced due to clashes in Amran, Al-Jawf, and Al-Baida.”

Mohammed Abdullah, a resident of Bait Maran village in Arhab, agreed with Sinan’s assessment, saying that most residents in the village were affiliated with the Islah party.  He claims that no Houthi supporters live in Bait Maran. “On Sunday, Houthis blew up the Quran center in Bait Maran, which they assumed was an Islah center,” he said. No fighting occurred in the village, according to Abdullah, with residents refusing to engage in open clashes with the Houthis.

Currently, Houthis, who are all originally from other areas, are cooperating with local police forces  and have set up checkpoints throughout the streets in the village, according to Abdullah.

“We call on President Hadi and the government to intervene and send a presidential committee that can come up with a permanent solution to stop the clashes,” Abdullah declared, saying that he feared that clashes may renew any moment.

Violation of February’s agreement?

Mohammad Al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi Political Office in Sana’a, accuses local Islah supporters in Arhab of having violated an agreement signed between the two parties on Feb. 8.

The ceasefire agreement, which was signed in the presence of a presidential committee assigned to resolve the conflict, required both sides to end the fighting, and to remove unofficial checkpoints and barricades from the Sana’a-Sa’ada road.

Al-Bukhaiti blames members of the Islah Party and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) of having violated the agreement after an attack was launched against Houthi supporters at the Bani Jaidat mosque in the Yahis area of Arhab district on Friday.

“RPGs were used to attack Houthis during Friday prayers. Several were killed, as a result,” he said said, claiming he did not  know the exact number of Houthi casualties.  

“Those Takfiris [Islah and AQAP members] also attacked Mohammed Nawfal [a prominent Houthi member in Arhab] on Friday in the area of Al-Sama Mountain, as well as members of Houthi popular committees. The clashes came in response to these attacks,” Al-Bukhaiti added.

Zaid Al-Shami, head of the Islah Party bloc in parliament, told the Yemen Times that he could not comment on which side was responsible for starting the fighting on Friday.

The alleged presence of AQAP in Arhab district made headlines in late May, when the Yemeni military carried out a raid in the district’s Bani Hakm area, killing two “members of Al-Qaeda,” and arresting members of “a terrorist cell,” according to the Ministry of Defense.

A self-identified AQAP supporter in Arhab, who spoke to the Yemen Times on condition of anonymity, condemned the “pacifism” of local Islah supporters, saying that “The men of Rada’a are real men. They defend their villages and homes.  Islah party members in Arhab simply surrendered.”

“We [AQAP] were ready to back the Islah members in their fight against the Houthis in Arhab but they surrendered before we could,” the source added.

Five AQAP members were killed on Saturday, “in an ambush set by the Houthis in the Umara area near Al-Sama Mountain, in Arhab” the source said.  

Al-Bukhaiti told the Yemen Times on Monday that all areas in Arhab were cleared of Islah and AQAP members and  that the Houthis maintained control of everything. This rather ambiguous statement was contradicted by Abdullah, who reports that in his village, “Islah members and supporters remain in their homes.” However, as Abdullah admits, “They promised not to fight the Houthis and withdrew from a number of strategic positions such as atop Bait Maran hill.”