Al-Houthi legitimize the looting of graves in Ibb

English - Monday 17 April 2023 الساعة 11:04 pm
Ibb, newsyemen, private:

 The Houthi militia - Iran's arm in Yemen, has increased the pace of operations to extend and seize the lands of citizens and the state in the Ibb governorate, which is under its control, in central Yemen, to reach the graves of the dead that have been attacked and confiscated, in a precedent that is the first of its kind.

The governorate directorates, located 192 km south of Sana'a;  Repeated incidents of attacks on cemeteries and lands of endowments by leaders and gangs of the Houthi militia, in preparation for selling them for millions of riyals.

The last of these attacks, armed elements affiliated with a Houthi leader demolished the wall of the "Al-Sara" cemetery in Al-Adain district, amidst the astonishment of the citizens who informed the security services of the attack.  However, the security forces kidnapped by the militias did not move a finger to prevent the attack on the cemetery in order to pave a way to his house.

The same district also witnessed a similar Houthi attack on the "maqbara cemetery" in the Mamsa Tha'tam area, where parts of the cemetery were demolished in favor of influential members of the group.

The Houthi looting operations recently focused on cemeteries and endowment lands, to avoid any clashes with landowners, as happened in some areas that Houthi leaders and influential people tried to plunder by force in some of the governorate's districts.

 The cemetery of "Al-Sha'abi" in the afternoons in the Beyout Al-Aden farms in the Ibb countryside district, in the city of Ibb, was also subjected to a forcible expanse by Houthi leaders in light of societal reluctance to attack the cemetery.  Local sources said that the people tried to prevent the attackers, but they could not as a result of the Houthi leaders bringing in dozens of armed men to protect the attack.

The al-Jawz cemetery in the Hazm al-Adain district, east of Ibb, was also attacked by an armed gang loyal to the Houthi militia, specialized in looting the lands of endowments.  Parts of it have been simplified.

According to sources in the Awqaf Office in Ibb Governorate, the office has documented more than 8 cases of expansion of land belonging to the endowment of cemeteries in various regions of the Al-Adain district, indicating that most of the cemetery lands are not fenced and become vulnerable to attempts to extend by influential people and exploit them for residential or commercial purposes.

organized looting

 The attacks on the cemeteries are part of the confiscation and looting operations carried out by the Houthi militia and their leaders against the endowment lands and private and public property, and under the protection of the security services and the branch of the Endowment Authority office, which is under their control.

 Local sources said that a Houthi leader began looting lands belonging to the endowments in the "Al-Qaramah" area in the Jableh district, southwest of the city of Ibb, using his influence and dozens of Houthi elements.  She explained that citizens objected to the laying process, but the Houthi leader sought the help of armed elements from the security department of the Jableh Directorate to protect him in the laying process, and he fired bullets and chased those who objected to him.

 Lands belonging to the endowments in the mobile area, south of the city of Ibb, and others in the Al-Makhader district, north of Ibb governorate, also witnessed similar looting operations carried out by Houthi leaders and others loyal to them within the distribution of the spoils and the property of the endowments.

The so-called "Judicial Committee", which is led by prominent Houthi leader Muhammad Ali al-Houthi, oversees the looting of lands for the benefit of his group.  Where he visited the leader a few months ago in Ibb and met many of the land looters loyal to him under the name of "notables".

 Sources in the State Land and Real Estate Authority and the Office of the Ministry of Awqaf in Ibb said: The leader, Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi, during his recent visit to Ibb Governorate, took a list of the names of land looters loyal to his group who were reported by citizens, the Land Authority and the Awqaf Office, and a meeting was held with them to legitimize gang actions.  and empowering them from the areas that have been looted.  I was surprised that these leaders accused of looting lands were given the status of notables and social and tribal personalities.

 The sources confirmed that the secrets of Muhammad al-Houthi's meetings in Ibb recently emerged through the intensification of the looting of the endowment lands, leading to the cemeteries, which began to be subjected to confiscation and confiscation by leaders who participated in the meetings, which were managed by the Houthi leader months ago.

The sources said that Muhammad Ali al-Houthi, through his committee called the "Judicial Committee", supervises the management of real estate and money disputes and looting them for their benefit.  As many areas were spread over in Ibb under the directives of this Houthi committee.

A dangerous indicator.. and the Houthi judiciary

 Activists and human rights reports in Ibb confirmed the increase in land looting since the invasion of Iran's arm in 2015;  Thefts and confiscations expanded, and murders increased because of them.  And it highlighted the security statistics that confirm the increase in civilian casualties during the cessation of the expansion of their land by the Houthi authorities and influential loyal to them.

 They pointed out that the Houthis' control over the security and judicial apparatus enabled them to bulldoze large amounts of public and private land.  Among them are streets, public parks, school yards, endowment lands, and cemeteries, explaining that the high prices of lands and real estate in Ibb governorate prompted the Houthi leaders to start a frantic race to spread and loot to sell them at very high prices.

The lands of Ibb governorate are among the most expensive Yemeni lands.  The fact that the people of this province are expatriates in the Gulf and the United States of America, which explains the competition of the Houthi leaders to plunder and control it.  The competition between the Houthi leaders over its plunder escalated during the past months, which prompted prominent Houthi leaders to leave Sana'a and visit it to participate and supervise the acquisition of the largest areas and selling them for huge sums.

 Many citizens whose lands were looted by force of arms by influential Houthis refuse to resort to the courts to recover their usurped right, as the courts refer them to the Houthi "Judicial Committee", which in turn presents repressive solutions by deducting parts of the looted lands or forcing them to sell in order to share  funds.