Houthi militias have been seeking to grant tribal leaders money and positions to increase the recruitment of fighters as the insurgents have suffered losses in several fronts, mainly the Western coast, al-Bayda, Saada and al-Jawf, tribal sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
The Houthis have been in shock over their failure to recruit former soldiers despite threats and intimidation.
According to the sources, this failure compelled the militias to lure tribal leaders in the governorates of Sanaa, Amran and Dhamar to join the ranks of insurgents.
The Houthis' supreme political council head Mahdi al-Mshat has received orders from the group’s leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi to exert stronger efforts into coaxing the tribes to joint insurgent ranks by offering them cash incentives, weapons and positions, the sources said.
They told Asharq Al-Awsat that Mshat has lately summoned dozens of tribal leaders to implement the instructions given to him by the Houthi leader.
During the meetings, Mshat warned tribes, mainly those which have not yet announced their loyalty to the Houthis, that they would lose influence if their areas of control fall into the hands of legitimate forces backed by the Saudi-led Arab Coalition.
Mshat promised them posts in the illegitimate government and the Houthi-run Shura Council in an attempt to seduce them into joining militant ranks, said the sources.
He also said that the insurgent group would provide the tribes with arms and ammunition if they go ahead with plans to incorporate them into the militant forces.
In a serious sign of his promises to give them posts, Mshat has issued dozens of decisions on the appointment of several tribal chiefs in the Shura Council.
He also gave them positions in local councils, mainly in al-Bayda governorate where 18 tribal figures were made deputies for the governor.
The sources expressed belief that the Houthi leader has received new promises from his main backer Iran via Lebanon’s ‘Hezbollah’ that Tehran would increase its financial assistance to the group in order to provide tribal figures with monthly incomes.
