By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2025-10-17

Houthi infighting over market taxes and levies reveals the greed and corruption rampant among the militia's leaders.

The violent confrontation underscores the militia’s failure to resolve its own disputes, highlighting its inability to govern or meet the basic needs of Yemen’s population amid worsening poverty and instability.

On Tuesday, October 7, Houthi fighters engaged in armed clashes in the city of Radaa, in al-Bayda province, after disputes erupted over how to divide local revenues and influence.

According to Yemeni media outlets, local residents reported that the fighting involved Houthi fighters from the Riyam clan in Radaa.

The dispute centered on revenues from taxes imposed on vendors and qat sellers.

Deep-rooted corruption

"These events are merely a reflection of the greed and corruption rooted within the group, effectively exposing the falsity of its claims of good governance and administration," Fahmi al-Zubairi, Director General of the Human Rights Office in Sanaa.

"The group's practice of imposing taxes on citizens and merchants violates the Yemeni constitution and state laws, which reserve the right to impose taxes exclusively for official state institutions acting under legislative authority," he told Al-Fassel.

The Houthis' inability to resolve internal disputes over money and power clearly reveals the fragility of their administrative system and their lack of political competence, al-Zubairi said.

"This is a clear reflection of their incompetence to govern or manage public affairs, leading to the exacerbation of humanitarian suffering for the people in their controlled areas," he added.

Conflicts among Houthi elements frequently erupt over extortion, looting, and theft of public and private property, said political analyst Waddah al-Jalil.

"The random execution of these illegal acts ensures their interests clash, making internal fighting common," he said.

"Divisions are appearing at the top level, with senior leaders escalating disputes over decisions, positions, and influence. This infighting impacts choices on peace or war and includes conflicts over Red Sea hostilities," al-Jalil said.

Lower-level conflicts over collecting levies and bullying citizens expose the group’s insistence on plundering public money and using taxes as a means of illicit enrichment, he said.

"These taxes have severely impacted the population, with the militia even imposing tributes on the most vulnerable, those who have no income and depend on humanitarian aid, which has been disrupted by the militia's own actions," he added.