Houthi rebels have imposed a severe blockade on the village of Hamah Sarar in the Al-Wadi district of Al-Bayda province, central Yemen, with government warnings of potential “massacres” targeting the village’s residents.
Local sources reveal that the Houthis have deployed substantial military reinforcements, including tanks and drones, to the outskirts of the village.
They have threatened to invade unless they receive the surrender of “wanted” individuals from the village, according to Yemen Monitor.
Sources reported that Houthi armed groups entered local farms with the intent to destroy them. This led to confrontations with villagers, forcing the Houthis to withdraw temporarily.
The sources further noted that “tribal fighters in the village confronted Houthi drones with their rifles as they flew over Hamah Sarar around 5 PM on Friday.”
A tribal mediation effort was initiated following the Houthis’ demand for the surrender of seven villagers accused of killing their members at the village mosque.
The villagers refuse to hand over anyone and insist on the Houthis’ withdrawal from their areas, where they have been stationed since 2015.
The conflict began when a village resident, riding a motorcycle, passed a Houthi checkpoint in the village. The checkpoint guards fired at him for allegedly speeding, severely injuring him. His friend attempted to assist him but was also shot and killed by the Houthis.
This incident enraged the villagers, leading to clashes with the checkpoint guards who retreated and fortified themselves in the mosque’s minaret. The fighting resulted in the minaret’s burning, killing four Houthis and injuring a fifth.
The Yemeni government has warned the Houthi militia against committing a new “massacre” against civilians, including women and children in Hamah Sarar.
Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani stated, “Field reports indicate that the Houthis are mobilizing a heavily armed campaign, including state-looted heavy weapons, tanks, artillery, and Iranian-made drones, to assault Hamah Sarar, days after the killing of two villagers by their forces at a checkpoint.”
The minister accused the Houthis of attacking hundreds of villages and civilians in areas under their forceful control, intensifying their crimes and violations against civilians, including killings, displacement, and home destruction.
In March, the Houthi bombing of homes in Rad’a, Al-Bayda, caused widespread outrage among Yemenis. The explosion demolished several homes in the Al-Hafra neighborhood, killing 12 civilians and injuring 5 others, including women and children, who were asleep when the attack occurred.
