The struggles of the Houthi wings over the theft of relief aid and the extortion of organizations appear in the open
English - Monday 05 October 2020 الساعة 07:23 pm
Sanaa, NewsYemen, Special Report:
Sources close to the Houthi militia, the Iranian arm in Yemen, told NewsYemen: The disagreements that arose between some leaders and the Houthi wings over the theft of relief aid funds provided to areas under the militia’s control revealed the extent of the lies practiced by the Houthi militia on the issue of UN aid on the one hand and on the other hand the extent of corruption practiced by these militias against relief aid and donor funds.
A documented Houthi corruption revealed
The journalist of the Houthi militia, Osama Sari, had published documents that he said were evidence of the corruption of the aid provided by the UNICEF, the Minister of Water and Environment in the government of the unrecognized militias, Nabil Al-Wazir.
The sources added that what Sari published was nothing but a reflection of the fact that the differences are taking place between the wings and the Houthi leaders over the theft and looting of international aid, noting that Sari is known to be heavily supported by the influential leader in the militia, Ahmed Hamed (Abu Mahfoud), who is a director in the Presidency Office in the militia authority that is not recognized internationally, and that such documents can only be obtained by the Secretariat of Ministries and the Presidency Office.
After Sari published the minister's corruption documents, the Office of the Prime Minister, which is under the control of the militias, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Habtoor, issued a statement by a responsible source in the office condemning what he called the media campaign against the Minister of Water and Environment, Engineer Nabil Al-Wazir, by a number of media outlets and social media platforms.
However, Sari attacked the source and threatened in his post to open what he called corruption files of Prime Minister Dr. Abdulaziz bin Habtoor.
Houthi corruption wings struggle
As confirmation of the differences between the militia wings, the Houthi leader, Abdulmohsen Tawoos, who is the head of the so-called "Supreme Council for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs", accused the leader appointed as Minister of Water and Environment in the Houthi coup government, Nabil Al-Wazir, of manipulating donors' money and aid, and refraining from coordinating with his board.
The Supreme Council for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which is run by Al-Tawoos, is an entity created by the militias instead of what was called the National Authority for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Confronting Disasters.
Both are unconstitutional entities and work outside the constitutional and legal frameworks in force, and it is known that this entity works under the direct supervision of the Houthi leader Ahmed Hamed confiscates the powers of the Ministries of Planning and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, all of which are ministries run by ministers affiliated with the General People's Congress Party in Sana'a.
UN officials, led by the Humanitarian Coordinator in Sanaa, Lise Grande, have previously accused Tawoos Council of stealing relief aid, accusations that played a major role in shutting down more than 41 international programs for their work in militia-controlled areas.
Al-Tawoos, whose statements were echoed by the Houthi leader Ahmed Hamed, took advantage of the campaign against the Houthi Minister of Water, Nabil Al-Wazir, and said that "what appeared in the files of the Ministry of Water and its projects in partnership with UNICEF took place outside the Council," revealing an agreement with one of the organizations to provide 15 million liters of diesel for a number of state institutions during the years 2017-2018, adding: "However, only approximately 5 million liters have been provided."
In support of the Sari campaign, which belongs to Ahmed Hamed’s wing, Al-Tawoos said, in his statements to the Al-Hawiya Houthi Channel, that the sums granted to water projects were sufficient to deliver water to every home.
Houthi blackmail of organizations
The campaigns of reciprocal accusations of practicing corruption for international aid among Houthi leaders revealed that the Houthi militias sought to practice clear extortion operations against donor organizations and seek to control what these organizations offer to the entity that the Houthi leaders directly manage, namely the Humanitarian Affairs Council.
Al-Tawoos' blackmail of UNICEF was evident in his statements when he said: (UNICEF intends to communicate directly with a number of government institutions, so it bears responsibility for any imbalances or corruption cases).
It is not the first time that Houthi leaders have attacked international organizations, as these leaders have previously launched defamation campaigns through statements of their leaders and through their media against international organizations, accusing them of stealing aid granted to Yemen and not providing it to the Yemeni people.
In a scene that confirms the reality of the conflicts between the Houthi wings over the process of stealing aid on the one hand and blackmailing international organizations on the other hand, another Houthi journalist and activist, Abdulrahman Al-Abed, affiliated with other Houthi leaders, went to the defense of the Houthi leader, Nabil Al-Wazir, and wrote on his Facebook page, saying: The most important thing that became clear to the followers of the defamation campaign against Nabil Al-Wazir is that UNICEF and humanitarian organizations spend hundreds of millions of dollars in aid on Yemen ... even though we used to deny that money spent on us, and accuse them of stealing it.
Al-Abed added: Nabil Al-Wazir is appointed in the government from the share of Ansar Allah, not from the share of the Popular Congress, and if they were honest in their campaign, they would have dismissed him and presented him to the judiciary instead of defamation campaigns that harm the reputation of the entire Supreme Political Council, and make us look like a failed system like the Transitional Council, although we are not.
Al-Abed's tweets reflected the position of the Houthi leaders opposing Hamed, his strong influence in the state apparatus, and his absolute control over everything related to international aid operations provided to Yemen through the so-called Supreme Council for Humanitarian Affairs, which is run by Al-Tawoos under the direct supervision of Ahmed Hamed.
In an effort to absorb the growing international criticism and accusations of the Houthi militia of stealing relief aid and their refusal to continue dealing with the so-called Supreme Council for Humanitarian Affairs, the Houthi militia issued a decision to add the ministers of Interior, Education, Technical Education and Vocational Training, Public Works and Roads, Human Rights, and Local Administration to the membership of the board of directors of the entity created in the name of (the Supreme Council for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and International Cooperation), but the sources indicated that expanding the membership of the Council would open the way for more looting, squandering and tampering with relief aid and donor funds provided to Houthi militia-controlled areas.
