A source reveals the hidden objectives of the Houthi attack on the Hayel Saeed group
English - Sunday 25 December 2022 الساعة 09:34 am
Sana'a, NewsYemen, special report:
A source in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the unrecognized Houthi government, revealed the militia's goals behind the smear and blackmail campaigns against Yemeni commercial and investment institutions and houses, including the recent campaign against Hayel Saeed Anam Group, the largest commercial, investment and industrial group in Yemen.
A few days ago, the Houthi militia - the Iranian arm in Yemen - launched a systematic campaign through its media and its activists on social media against Hayel Saeed Anam's group.
The militia claimed that the group rejects the price lists set by the Houthi government, and forces its agents to sell the materials and food commodities it produces and manufactures at the price it sets and forces them to take the religious oath.
The source said that the recent Houthi campaign against the Hael group is part of a long campaign planned by the militia leaders and mainly targets commercial houses, major traders and investors in the local market with the aim of putting pressure on them to achieve many gains.
He pointed out that the militias had previously carried out a similar campaign months ago against businessman "Taha Qaten" and his subsidiaries, claiming at the time that he had factories practicing fraud and packing foodstuffs and others in unhealthy and non-conforming ways.
He explained that the Houthis aim, by targeting Yemeni commercial houses, to achieve dual goals, some of which are related to pressure on these merchants and blackmailing them to obtain exorbitant illegal royalties, as well as "disappearing old businessmen and investors", in favor of other "war merchants", who are Houthi leaders or loyal to them. They entered the investment market during the war.
The source said that there is a long-term goal of the Houthis represented in harassing merchants and businessmen, especially those who work as agents for foreign trading companies in Yemen, and thus bringing them to the stage of escaping from the local market in militia-controlled areas and prompting replacements from militia leaders to take over the task.
He stressed that the Houthis are putting pressure on many merchants in their areas of influence in various ways, with the motive of forcing them to give up their work as local agents for companies and brands, in preparation for extending their influence and control over the internal commercial activity almost completely.
The source pointed out that this Houthi approach was inspired by the experiences of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which controls the Iranian economy, as well as the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, which created its own commercial and investment institutions.
He pointed out that the campaign against the Hayel Saeed group was planned by the so-called "Houthi Economic Committee", which is supervised by the militia leader and head of the so-called political council, Mahdi Al-Mashat, with the help of other Houthi leaders, including Hassan Al-Saadi, Ahmed Al-Shami, Saleh Shaaban, and the Minister of Finance in the group's government, Rashid Balhoum.
