Damascus Echoes Reach Sanaa: Houthi Precautions amid Fears of a “Spiral of Collapse”

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As Syrian factions announced the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Damascus, the repercussions of this development quickly resonated in Sanaa, which remains under the iron grip of Houthi militias.

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The Houthi militias swiftly implemented precautionary measures to restrict the movement of their leadership, fearing a sudden fall of Sanaa and an internal collapse of their fragile terrorist organization. This comes in the wake of unexpected developments in Syria, where al-Assad’s rule was ended by armed opposition forces.

Fears of Leadership Escape

Security sources and civilian leaders in Sanaa said that the Iran-backed Houthi militias have imposed strict restrictions on the movements of their leaders, fearing they might flee to government-controlled areas recognized internationally. This came just hours after the announcement of al-Assad’s regime collapse.

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The sources confirmed that the Houthis restricted the movements of all their leaders, including those holding the title of “minister” in their unrecognized coup government, prohibiting travel outside the besieged capital, Sanaa.

According to the sources, the Houthis mandated that any official or “minister” within their rebel system wishing to leave Sanaa must obtain prior approval from the Iran-backed militia’s security and intelligence apparatus.

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The sources further noted that the militias, through the head of their security and intelligence service, Abdel Karim al-Khaiwani, instructed the coup government’s head, Abdulaziz Bin Habtour, and his ministers to coordinate all their movements, including personal ones, with the security unit dedicated to high-ranking individuals.

The Houthi intelligence services also ordered their leadership to preemptively report any movement within or outside Sanaa, reflecting their fear of potential defections that could hasten their collapse, the sources said.

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A Justification That Exposes Their Fears

The Houthi militias sought to mask their concerns by claiming these precautionary measures aimed to provide adequate protection for their leaders from what they described as “American and Israeli targeting.”

However, the sources confirmed that these restrictive measures, which limit the movement of their leaders, were issued just hours after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria and the armed factions’ capture of Damascus.

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It was also reported that the Houthis granted their security and intelligence apparatus the authority to take any security measure without consulting the coup government head, Ahmed Rahawi, or his deputies and ministers.

The restrictions even extended to banning the movement of all leaders within their own residential zones in Sanaa under the pretext of security reasons, a clear indication of their fears of a sudden collapse, the sources concluded.

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