Houthis Mobilize People to Celebrate Ninth Anniversary of Their Sanaa Takeover

People from different northern provinces in Yemen began today flocking to Sanaa to mark the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group's ninth anniversary of their takeover of the country's capital.

Hundreds of thousands will gather in different squares in all Houthi-controlled provinces, and the largest rally will be in the capital, Sanaa.

Preparation for the Houthi celebration of their Sanaa seizure began weeks ago, and different Houthi government bodies exerted efforts to arrange for this occasion, which they call a "revolution". However, millions of Yemenis call it a "disastrous coup" that plunged Yemen into unspeakable suffering. The Houthi group took over Sanaa on September 21, 2014, capitalizing on the deep political disputes at the time.

On Tuesday, Assistant Minister of Defense for Human Resources in Sanaa, Ali Al-Kahlani, said preparations are underway for the main celebration of the ninth anniversary of the "September 21 Revolution". Houthi officials urged people in areas under their control to participate in this occasion.

On Wednesday, Houthi authorities promoted this event through helicopters that hovered Sanaa's sky. They tied large Yemeni flags to helicopters, flying over several areas in Sanaa.

A tribal sheikh from Sanaa said he and his likes have to attend this celebration and mobilize people to participate. He told Sheba Intelligence, "Sheikhs who live in Sanaa or near it have to attend in Al-Sabeen Square or any place the group decides on. The sheikhs outside the capital should try to come to Sanaa with hundreds of supporters, and if they cannot attend, they have to arrange for this occasion in their areas."

The Houthis say their September 21 seizure of Sanaa brought an end to the presence of American Marines who were in many Yemeni military camps and sites and controlled the security authorities, managing the situation in Yemen through the U.S. ambassadors. They also say Yemen became one of the countries that manufacture missiles and drones that can hit any country in the region.

Setting Yemen decades back

The anti-Houthi parties in Yemen say the Houthi coup has set the country decades back. Rashad Al-Alimi, the head of the Presidential Leadership Council, said in his speech at the 78th U.N. General Assembly on Monday, September 18, that the war created by the Houthi group turned development priorities in Yemen upside down and crushed the relative economic achievements and gains.

 The country's focus has been shifted to providing the basic necessities, including food, medicine, water, and electricity, instead of strategic development agendas, Al-Alimi added.

Different sectors in Yemen have seen massive losses since Sanaa's fall to the Houthi group. The Saudi-led Arab coalition's military also augmented the tragedy in the country through its years-long military operations against the Houthi group.

Education, health, economy, tourism, and agriculture sectors have all suffered severe consequences since the war's inception. Pondering on these losses makes Yemenis dejected and thirsty for peace. The following numbers demonstrate how the war has affected various sectors in Yemen:

• 21.6 of 31.5 million people are in acute need of humanitarian and protection services.
• 46% of all Yemeni health facilities are only partially functioning or entirely out of service.
• At least 10 million people are estimated to have no access to healthcare services
•  377,000 people have been killed by armed conflict and other indirect causes, such as preventable diseases.
• Over 4 million Yemeni people have been displaced.
• Over two million children are out of school, and countless others are growing up without access to education.
• An estimated 2,916 schools have been destroyed, partially damaged, or used for non-educational purposes.
• The losses of the agriculture sector in Yemen are estimated at over $11 billion during the war years.
• Losses in the tourism sector have surpassed US$ 6 billion since 2015.
• Yemen has lost a cumulative over US$126 billion in potential gross domestic product (GDP) since 2015.

On this ninth anniversary of the Houthi takeover of Sanaa, the Houthi leadership is proud that their advent to Sanaa ushered in a better era for Yemen. However, their opponents say the Houthi coup brought hell to the country. As clear as it is, the Houthi group succeeded in establishing themselves as a state, but they have failed to perform all the functions of the state, according to the tribal sheikh.