Yemenis travelling to the city from areas under government control are alarmed by the number of Iran-backed Houthi checkpoints at the southern approach to Sanaa, according to witnesses.
The crackdown coincides with growing public resentment of the Houthis’ activities and is largely regarded as a manifestation of the group’s anxiety.
Many people travelling from Aden and other government-controlled areas to Sanaa said that at checkpoints outside of the city, masked Iran-backed Houthi members questioned them about the purpose of their journey.
Private sector employee Saleem al-Harazi claimed that Houthi militants interrogated him after homing in on his response that he was returning from Aden at a checkpoint in Yasleh, in the Sanhan area of Sanaa.
Sami al-Zuraiqi said to Iran Briefing that he was detained at the Yasleh checkpoint on his recent return from a trip to Aden after a Houthi element accused him of working with the Arab coalition and going there to get paid.
Al-Zuraiqi said that he informed the Houthi members that he works for a commercial telecoms business and had travelled to Aden to visit his family for Eid al-Adha.
During an eight-year battle, the Houthis’ checkpoints and their interrogations worsen the misery of Yemenis in all areas, according to economist Abdul Aziz Thabet.
According to Thabet, the Houthis have created lists with the names of former government officials as well as journalists and activists from the opposition, “to prevent them from entering Sanaa.”
According to economist Faris al-Najjar of Iran Briefing, the Houthis’ activities make things worse for the local populace since they are compelled to take other routes between provinces to avoid clashes.
He continued by saying that the Iran-backed Houthi militias do not care about peace and that they are using the cease-fire to buy time to gather their forces.