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Houthis' contradictory path in Sanaa

Yemen's Houthi movement might be heading toward military clashes in Sanaa to force the government into meeting its demands.
Followers of the Shi'ite Houthi group attend a gathering at the group's camp near Sanaa September 10, 2014. Yemeni soldiers traded gunfire with Shi'ite Muslim rebels near a military base at the southern entrance to the capital Sanaa on Tuesday, residents said, hours after soldiers killed at least four Shi'ite protesters outside the cabinet building. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR45ODD
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Since Yemen’s National Dialogue Conference (NDC) was completed in January, the military conflicts have become even more acute — most prominently the battle in the north Yemeni city of Amran. Since then, not a single step has been taken to end Yemen’s political transition process and hold the elections, which were planned for February, after being postponed for 23 months. Instead, the country is heading in the opposite direction, toward war and political deadlock.

This contradictory path governs all of Yemen, particularly the Houthi movement, which has been ruling the Saada governorate that borders Saudi Arabia for more than three years now. The group’s rule represents the worse and most oppressive model of governance, as it runs Saada as a radical religious armed group that bans music, for instance. Pictures taken at Houthi sit-ins show that women are absent. Al-Monitor attended a sit-in on Aug. 30 next to the Interior Ministry, and asked the media officer of the Houthis why no women were present; the answer was that women should stay home.

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