Hidden collusion with the Houthis: the record of the Muslim Brotherhood’s maneuvers from Taiz to the coast

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As is its habit, the Al-Islah party, the Muslim Brotherhood’s arm in Yemen, continues its opportunism, clinging to a history filled with maneuvers and side battles that, according to its critics, serve Houthi interests.

While Yemenis were mobilizing for a decisive battle against the Houthis in Hodeidah in 2018, the Brotherhood was reaping gains in Taiz by opening an internal front against the “partners in the battle.”

Today, Al-Islah has not limited itself to filling vacuums in the south; its ambitions have expanded toward the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, where the last military blocs opposed to the Brotherhood are located, a move seen as aimed at obstructing a potential battle against the Houthis in the region.

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Suspicious movements

By fragmenting the battle against its rivals, Al-Islah began in early 2018 its first campaigns to “liberate the liberated areas” and remove competitors, launching a decisive fight to secure its stronghold in Taiz.

At the time, Al-Islah exploited the general preoccupation with the Hodeidah battle to move against what was known as the “Abu al-Abbas Brigades,” part of the 35th Armored Brigade of the Yemeni army.

Through its media apparatus, the party sought to discredit this force, which had helped liberate most neighborhoods of Taiz from the Houthis, before curtailing its role by backing wanted individuals to open daily side clashes that civilians paid for, leaving dozens dead and hundreds wounded.

Through its military factions led by Abdo Farhan, known as “Salem,” Al-Islah engaged in daily hit-and-run fighting with the Abu al-Abbas Brigades, culminating in the storming of Taiz’s old city in March 2019 after heavy shelling, including with tanks.

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Assassinations

In its drive to control Taiz, Al-Islah did not stop at expelling the Abu al-Abbas Brigades from the city, but quickly moved into a new battle in the governorate’s countryside, particularly in the Al-Hajariya mountains overlooking Bab al-Mandeb.

The Brotherhood established the “4th Mountain Infantry Brigade” to tighten the noose around Brigadier General Adnan al-Hammadi, commander of the 35th Armored Brigade, before deploying wanted individuals to carry out attritional attacks and drag forces into side battles.

They went beyond supporting a wanted man named Habib al-Samai and others to attack the brigade’s patrols; the situation escalated to the assassination of Brigadier General Adnan al-Hammadi on December 2, 2019.

Following his assassination, the Brotherhood mobilized the so-called “Popular Mobilization” militias, later integrated into the 17th Infantry Brigade and 22nd Mechanized Brigade, and stormed towns in Al-Hajariya after committing grave abuses, most notably the execution and mutilation of Aseel Abdelhakim al-Jabzi, son of the head of operations of the 35th Armored Brigade, in August 2020.

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Handover of fronts

From Taiz, the Brotherhood moved in late 2020 to what was described as one of the heaviest blows to Yemenis, handing over districts of Nihm in Sanaa and districts in Marib, Al-Bayda, and Al-Jawf to the Houthis.

Military sources said that the areas handed over covered nearly 16,000 square kilometers, stretching from Nihm to Al-Jawf and northern Al-Bayda, forming a gateway to liberating the capital and a buffer zone for Marib.

The sources said these “betrayals” dealt a severe moral blow to the Yemeni army and fighters who had lost thousands of comrades liberating these areas, which were handed to the Houthis within hours without any resistance.

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Shifting the battle to the coast

Recently, the Brotherhood has sought to consolidate its influence and return to the south to fill gaps left by the Southern Transitional Council due to recent events.

In recent months, it has held dozens of meetings in southern governorates in an effort to return to Hadramawt, Aden, and Abyan.

In this context, it began backing a wanted individual named Ahmed Haidar al-Mashwali to move the battle into the heart of Yemen’s western coast, opening a breach that could facilitate control of Mokha and Bab al-Mandeb, a key objective.

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These side battles are unfolding as many Yemenis prepare for a decisive confrontation with Houthi militias toward Sanaa and Hodeidah.

Commenting on this, Yemeni army officer Colonel Wafi Dahshoush said that “diverting coastal forces by pushing armed groups to fight them indicates hidden alignment with Houthi militias,” referring to the Brotherhood.

He added that “since their establishment, the coastal forces’ compass has pointed toward Houthi militias, and diverting them today through known actors only weakens the role of legitimacy and strengthens the Houthi coup.”

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