Nine killed or injured in Saada land dispute, including Houthi leader

Nine individuals were killed or injured following an armed dispute over a plot of land in the village of Al-Ruhwa, in the Al-Abdin area of Sahar district, Saada governorate, the primary stronghold of the Houthi militia.

Local sources reported that a fierce disagreement erupted between two parties from the local population over land ownership, which rapidly escalated to the use of firearms and intense exchanges of gunfire between the two sides.

According to the sources, the bloody confrontations resulted in the deaths of four individuals. From the first party, citizen Ahmed bin Mahdi Ahmed was killed. From the other party, Houthi leader Khaled Jabran and two of his sons were killed, in addition to a fourth fatality from the same involved parties.

The sources added that the clashes also left five wounded, including two brothers of citizen Ahmed Mahdi, and three others from the Abu Nashir family. They were transferred to the hospital for treatment amidst a tense atmosphere in the region.

This incident occurs amid a noticeable escalation in land and real estate disputes in Saada governorate and areas under Houthi militia control. This is fueled by the absence of decisive judicial solutions, the involvement of Houthi leaders in property embezzlement, and ongoing security unrest.