The disappearance of president of the Houthi council Saleh al-Sammad eight days ago has sparked internal disputes that included accusations of corruption and theft.
Sources close to the insurgents suggested that Houthi leader Abd al-Malik al-Houthi had put Sammad under house arrest, but it was difficult to confirm the claims amid a state of repression against the media in Sana’a.
The disappearance came amid efforts to pass a law allowing the Houthi leader and his descendants to receive one-fifth of Yemen's wealth and zakat revenues.
Finance Minister of the unrecognized government Hussein Maqbouli has reportedly resigned to protest the failure to grant him the necessary powers to allow the payment of salaries for employees in militia-controlled areas.
Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Houthi was furious with Sammad for his failure to take in new recruits.
The last official appearance of Sammad was in Sana'a on April 11, according to the sources.
The sources didn't rule out the possibility that Houthi may have killed Sammad. However they said it is more likely that he put him under house arrest in an undisclosed location to isolate him from political activity.
Sammad's statements, in which he expressed remorse for killing former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, could be one of the reasons for his disappearance.
Activists close to the finance minister, Hussein Maqbouli, indicated that he submitted his resignation Wednesday in protest. They tweeted stating Maqbouli argued with Houthi council's member Madi al-Mshat and other members when he tried to pay the salaries of employees in areas under militia control.
The group's defense minister, Mohammed al-Atefi, previously threatened to resign, accusing the unrecognized government of Abdul Aziz bin Habtoor of causing the group's recent defeats by failing to provide the funds to tempt tribal militants and the unemployed to join their ranks.
Minister of Industry and Commerce and Member of Parliament Abdu Bishr attacked the militia's government, urging it to discuss corruption cases in which he said they were involved, including the failure of the group to provide funds to the Central Bank in Sana’a.
He accused the group's leaders of placing revenues in their private accounts. The minister also inquired about the millions of funds, which he said were donated by merchants, businessmen and citizens, following the call by the insurgents to support the central bank.
Bishr revealed that Houthis had agreed to renew for two years the license of the private telecommunications companies for $72 million each, but only brought in $27 million - half of it in local currency - and seized the rest.
State-owned television, controlled by the group in Sana’a, cut off Bishr's statement during the broadcast of the parliamentary session. The Council later urged the Minister of Information to question why the discussion was not broadcast.
The insurgency government responded with an official statement broadcast by the Houthi's Saba, in which it accused Bishr of supporting the Arab Coalition and legitimacy, saying he had also neglected his ministerial duties.
Sources close to the group told Asharq Al-Awsat that Bin Habtoor’s powers are limited, saying he could only decide on a financial or administrative matter after receiving the militias’ green light.
MP Ahmed Saif Hashed, who is supportive of the insurgency’s coup, reported that the militia had prepared an amendment to the zakat law and submitted it to the parliament for approval as part of other financial laws.
The MP revealed that the most prominent of Houthi amendments was the law of zakat funds which stipulates that zakat and khums must be given to the leader of the group and his family as descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.
Activists in Sana’a believe the group will force lawmakers to pass the law, ridiculing the group's behavior.
