Hawban Taiz.. a partner in the siege and a model in dependence
English - Sunday 06 August 2023 الساعة 03:31 pm
Taiz, NewsYemen, Exclusive:
Nine years of continuous war in the country, during which nearly three million people lived in the city of Taiz under the siege imposed by the Houthi group on the most densely populated city, which in turn practiced various forms of war crimes against the besieged people for more than 3 thousand days.
During the siege period, which exceeded nine years, the Al-Hawban area, on the eastern side of the city of Taiz, represented one of the most important stations used by Iran to double the suffering of the besieged city and its people.
At a time when the Houthi rebellion imposed a suffocating cordon on the city of Taiz, the people of Al-Hawban abandoned their city and their besieged compatriots, to choose to support the Houthi camp, which prompted them to wage a proxy war against the residents of the city of Taiz, along with their militias from the Salafis coming from Saada and the northern regions.
A proxy war
The Houthi group used the Al-Hawban region as a station from which it launched its military operations against the besieged city of Taiz, while the people of this region turned into mercenaries mobilized by the dynasty group to reinforce its separate fronts on the outskirts and borders of the city.
Since the beginning of the Houthi war on Taiz in early 2015 AD, the group has been exploiting the people of Al-Hawban from those it intended to mobilize, to spread them in various points and locations where the city's roads are closed, such as the Al-Dahi crossing, in which the people were subjected to various forms of humiliating practices.
During the first months of the war, the Al-Dahi crossing represented the worst example of the Houthi blockade, as it carried out through its proxies the most heinous types of violations against civilians, and prevented the entry of water, medicine and foodstuffs.
In this context, citizen Amjad Al-Badani, who has been residing in Taiz since the beginning of the war, recounts his experience by saying: "I went out one day in search of two water containers, and upon my arrival at Al-Dahi crossing, a group of searchers intercepted me, and they threw waste and dirt into the water tank."
Al-Badani indicated, in the context of his interview with "Newsyemen", that "what he was exposed to while trying to bring water into his house was repeated with other citizens, and these practices went beyond the event in which some urinated in water tanks to insult people and force them to return."
He added, "The Houthi group was using the people of the Al-Hawban region, whom it armed and attracted, to supplement its camps in passing these practices, while they are rushing to practice these behaviors more than the Houthis coming from Saada, who are satisfied with providing their instructions to these mercenaries."
He continued, "Until this moment, the people of Al-Hawban are still the ones serving the Houthis at the checkpoints located in their area, and every time I go out to Ibb governorate, I find that the people of Al-Hawban are the ones who receive people at the Houthi checkpoints."
He said: "They detain people, they search their phones and search for any reason to implicate them, so that most of the civilians and travelers who were imprisoned by the Houthi group in its prisons were civilians and travelers leaving the city of Taiz. Behind their imprisonment were Houthi checkpoints, inside which the sons of al-Hawban stood."
He concluded by saying: "Unfortunately, the Houthi group is taking advantage of the people of Al-Hawban to wage a proxy war against the city of Taiz and against their people and their people, and this is what people feel the most awe and regret."
Fertile environment
Since the beginning of the war, Iran’s arm has exploited the people of Al-Hawban and penetrated into society, especially as it has deliberately bought real estate, while it has pushed its supervisors and gunmen coming from Saada and other northern governorates to marry families in Al-Hawban, to take root among themselves and create a fertile environment for themselves to proliferate. between the parents.
In this context, a resident of the Al-Hawban region, who preferred not to be named, says: "The people of the Al-Hawban region provided a fertile environment to enhance the influence of the Houthis, at a time when they were not satisfied with supplying the rebel militia camps, they provided an additional opportunity for the group to take root among themselves, as they sold them real estate." And they accepted them as their partners in the land.
In the context of his interview with "Newsyemen", the source added: "Since the beginning of the war, the Salafis went to buy real estate and land from the people of the Al-Hawban region, penetrated among them and became partners with them in land and housing."
He pointed out that "the Houthis who came with their weapons to Taiz, many of them married families in the Al-Hawban area, which reveals the group's efforts to breed society, making them part of society."
He said, "The Houthi strategy, which relies on marriage and the purchase of real estate, is a long-term policy through which it seeks to implicate these communities, making them partners in the war, and giving these militias bonds that are difficult to get rid of."
He concluded by saying: "During the war period from 2015 until today, many opportunities were provided for the people of the Al-Hawban region to get rid of the control of the Houthi group, but the region and its people were involved enough to keep them at the mercy of the Houthi weapon."
