Bani Matar Tribes Accuse Houthi Officials of Seizing Farmland

Residents and tribal members from the Bani Matar district, west of Sana'a, have accused influential Houthi militia leaders and officials from the General Authority for Land and Property of orchestrating a systematic confiscation of vast tracts of their private agricultural land and real estate. The seizures are reportedly being carried out under the guise of "urban planning schemes and newly established road networks."

Sources from the Ja'adab sub-district in Bani Matar reported that influential figures within the General Authority for Land, Survey, and Urban Planning, in coordination with officials from the Public Works and Roads Office in Sana'a Governorate, are imposing what they described as "illegal and illegitimate" engineering plans. These plans aim to expropriate approximately 75,737 agricultural dunams of private and historical landholdings.

The affected residents stated in circulated complaints that the targeted lands are private properties passed down through generations, supported by centuries-old legal documentation. They emphasized that these lands do not belong to the state or the endowments sector and represent the sole source of income for hundreds of families in the region.

They further indicated that technical committees have deliberately drawn unjustified routes and curves through farmlands, with the stated objective of seizing the largest possible area of agricultural land under the pretext of public interest and organization. However, the residents claim the true intention is to allocate these lands for investment projects associated with leaders of the Houthi movement.

These accusations arise amid widespread land confiscation campaigns affecting citizens' properties and farms in various Sana'a districts, including Hamdan, Sanhan, and Bani Hushaysh. Thousands of dunams have been fenced off and seized under various pretexts, such as "armed forces land" or "master plans." This situation has intensified tribal anger and resentment due to the encroachment on private property and the destruction of residents' livelihoods.