Local official: Houthi militia appoints figures linked to Iranian intelligence to manage security file in Hodeidah

A local official in the local authority in Al Hudaydah Governorate (western Yemen) confirmed that the figures appointed by the Houthi militia to manage the security file in the governorate were all trained in Iran and have close ties to Iranian intelligence, coinciding with the militia’s military build-up in the governorate.

This came in a post by the Director of Media in the legitimate authorities in Al-Hodeidah Governorate, Ali Hamid Al-Ahdal, on the X platform, commenting on the recent Houthi appointments of security directors in the governorate that were circulated on social media sites yesterday evening, along with appointment decisions in a number of governorates under the control of the Houthi militia.

Al-Ahdal said, “Iran is imposing 26 new figures on Hodeidah, all of whom are from the inner circle directly linked to Iranian intelligence, and from outside the governorate (from the people of Saada, Amran, Hajjah and Sana’a), who were trained in Qom, Iran, under the supervision of Iranian security leaders. They were imposed as security directors for the governorate’s districts, including the liberated districts, in which there is no Houthi presence.”

He explained that "this step clearly highlights the real terror that Iran is experiencing from losing its control over the Red Sea coasts, which are still under the control of the Houthi militia, and indicates a complete loss of confidence in its previous tools in the governorate."

He added that these appointments show the militia's fear of defections and the internal situation in Hodeidah cracking, especially with the confusion of the deteriorating military situation.

Al-Ahdal pointed out that the militia's loss of confidence in the former security directors, some of whom were from Tihama, and their replacement with figures who owe direct loyalty to Iran, reflects the militia's intention to end the role of local social figures who were involved in loyalty to the Houthis, and aims to monitor them closely to prevent any cooperation with the joint government forces opposed to them.

Iran imposes 26 new figures on #Hodeidah .. All of them are from the inner circle directly linked to Iranian intelligence. They are from Saada, Amran, Hajjah and Sana'a, who were trained in Qom, Iran, under the supervision of Iranian security leaders. They were imposed as security directors for the governorate's directorates, including the liberated directorates, which do not… pic.twitter.com/qldu1fP7r9

— Ali Hamid Al-Ahdal (@AliHamidAlAhdal) November 22, 2024

He pointed out that the appointments, which also included the liberated directorates, such as Al-Khokha and Hays, are nothing but a miserable attempt to reassure the militias that their presence is inevitable to control the situation in Al-Hodeidah Governorate, stressing that “these appointments remain useless in the long run, as they do not enjoy any popular acceptance and will be met with public rejection at the appropriate moment from all the people of Tihama, who see the Houthis as an occupying force seeking to dominate by force.”

Over the past few days and weeks, the Houthi militia has intensified its military build-up in the governorate, with official and local sources indicating that the militia has brought in hundreds of military vehicles, including “guided missile platforms, Katyusha batteries, howitzers, four-wheel drive vehicles, and motorcycles,” in addition to engineering construction equipment and hundreds of armed elements, and deployed them in a number of areas from which it has displaced residents. It has also doubled the digging of tunnels and the construction of fortifications and trenches.