By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2025-06-12

ADEN -- The Houthis have launched a coordinated campaign to weaken Yemen's traditional tribal system, implementing Iranian tactics aimed at dividing tribal communities and undermining their stabilizing role, Yemeni analysts said.

A recent example played out in June when senior sheikhs of the Dahm tribes were forced to intervene to contain a clash between the Dhu Mohammed and Dhu Hussein tribes, fueled by the Houthis, in al-Jawf province.

The Houthis had actively stoked tensions over a land dispute in al-Yatmah area to divert attention from their forced displacement operations in the nearby Wadi Madhab area, according to local media reports.

The Dahm sheikhs' mediation succeeded in halting the clashes through a tribal agreement to resist the Houthis' attempts to incite strife.

The Dahm tribes then announced the formation of a unified alliance comprising all their branches in the northeastern province of al-Jawf to protect their tribal identity and social cohesion.

Tribal leaders from Dahm, Murad and other tribes under the Yemeni government's control have condemned the Houthis' attempts to subjugate tribes to serve the Iranian regime's regional ambitions, the analysts said.

"Tribes in Yemen represent a major obstacle to the Houthis' sectarian project," political analyst Mahmoud al-Taher told Al-Fassel.

"This is why the Houthis are working to dismantle the tribal fabric through incitement, sowing discord, recruiting children, and undermining tribal authorities," he said.

"The customs that once governed and protected society are now being crushed by the power of [Houthi] weapons and imported ideology," he added, referring to the influence of the Islamic Republic.

Targeting Yemen's tribes

The Houthis have employed various tactics, including preventing tribes from uniting behind patriotic leaders, while violating traditional rights of tribal sheikhs and replacing them with loyalists, said Deputy Justice Minister Faisal al-Majeedi.

The Iran-backed group initially sought tribal leaders' help to control new territories, promising to preserve their influence, political analyst Faisal Ahmed told Al-Fassel.

But they quickly turned against these leaders, taking their sons hostage to enforce compliance in military recruitment and resource provision, he said.

Some sheikhs were killed, while others either submitted to Houthi authority or fled to government-controlled areas.

The group has orchestrated tribal conflicts and blood feuds across multiple provinces, including Amran, Hajjah and Sanaa, by using their top administrators to reignite historic disputes between and within tribes, he added.

"These Houthi actions are intended to weaken the tribe and its traditional role in building peace," Ahmed said, noting that tribal leaders have widely condemned these systematic efforts to destroy their centuries-old social structures.