Inter-Houthi fighting, as part of a fierce competition among the militia’s leaders for more influence and money in Yemen, has reached an unprecedented scale, informed sources said.
The capital Sanaa and other Houthi-run areas have witnessed severe differences that led to fighting among the militia’s members, leaving dozens of casualties, they said.
More than 19 clashes in seven cities in the past 35 days are signs of rising tension among Houthi commanders, the sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
At least 38 people were killed and 66 injured in clashes between June and July 5 in the capital, the provinces of Sanaa, Ibb and Dhamar and other regions, they said.
A week ago, local sources said that a Houthi commander, who goes by the nom de guerre of Abou Ayyoub, was killed in Sanaa along with several associates during clashes with the militia's security personnel.
A few days earlier, Sheikh Akram Haidara, another Houthi figure, was killed at his home south of Sanaa, media reports said.
In Ibb, a source close to the insurgents told Asharq Al-Awsat that fistfights and knife attacks erupted among Houthi militiamen over counter-accusations on looting.
The source, who refused to be identified, said the bickering parties pointed their guns and threatened to kill each other.
Similar incidents also recently took place near the provincial security administration and several other areas in the province.
Dhamar province has also witnessed the assassination of several high-ranking Houthi officials, a local source said.
