Houthi Actions Fuel Internal Crisis, External Threats

The Houthi group, since its coup against the Yemeni state, has plunged Yemen into one of the most severe crises in its modern history, destroying state institutions and igniting a protracted war that has devastated the Yemeni people. A nation aspiring to development and stability has been transformed into a theater of conflict, poverty, hunger, and economic collapse.

The recent Houthi threats to target airports and vital facilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have been addressed by the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition. This escalation is seen as an attempt to escape the internal crises plaguing the group and to export these issues abroad, as internal avenues for their agenda become increasingly constrained.

The reality within Houthi-controlled areas is stark. Millions of Yemenis face dire humanitarian conditions, with salaries for hundreds of thousands of state employees unpaid for years. Poverty, hunger, and disease afflict Yemeni families, while public resources are drained to fund the war and sustain conflict instead of serving citizens.

The tragedy extends beyond the economic realm, encompassing restrictions on freedoms, the weakening of state institutions, and the imposition of a reality based on force and arms. This has led to widening popular rejection across various Yemeni segments.

In this context, the tribal mobilization in Al-Rayan, called for by Sheikh Hamad bin Mudgham, holds significant importance. It reflects the depth of popular and tribal discontent towards the group's practices. The gathering of tribes from various governorates sends a clear message: dissatisfaction is no longer confined to a specific group or region but represents a growing rejection of the country's current reality.

It is not coincidental that this popular and tribal movement coincides with Houthi escalation against Saudi Arabia. When internal crises intensify and popular pressures mount, the group resorts to fabricating external conflicts, hoping to divert attention from its failures in managing controlled areas and its direct responsibility for the deteriorating living and economic conditions.

Blaming other parties for the suffering of Yemenis is no longer convincing. The group bears significant responsibility for the continuation of the war, the disruption of state institutions, the prolongation of the crisis, and the rejection of numerous initiatives that could have alleviated citizens' suffering and paved the way for a political settlement.

Experience over the past years has proven that the Houthis have not presented a project for a state, but rather a project for perpetual conflict. A state is built on institutions, law, development, and economy, while armed groups thrive on continuous mobilization, ongoing confrontations, and crisis creation. Therefore, peace and stability pose a genuine challenge to any project that relies on maintaining arms as the primary means of asserting influence.

The Yemeni people, who have endured the bitterness of poverty, hunger, illness, unpaid salaries, and collapsing services, no longer seek war slogans. They aspire to salvation from the reality of conflict, the restoration of their state and institutions, and the building of a nation where security, justice, and development prevail. Yemenis desire schools, not barricades; hospitals, not trenches; and salaries that preserve their dignity, not inflammatory rhetoric that drags the country into further destruction.

Any attempt to export the crisis abroad or ignite a new regional confrontation will not erase a truth that has become clear to Yemenis: the continuation of the war is the primary reason for their ongoing suffering, and the primary loser of any new escalation will be the Yemeni citizen who has paid a heavy price for over a decade.

The time has come for everyone to realize that Yemen's future cannot be built on wars, and that the Yemeni people deserve a state that protects them, not a group that thrives on conflict, derives its existence from ongoing crises, and seeks a new battle to escape internal accountability whenever internal pressures intensify.