Officials in Sana’a confirmed this Tuesday that Ahmad Sharafeddin, a Houthi NDC representative and former dean at the law faculty at Sana’a University had been gunned down by armed militants in the heart of the capital.
News of his death come as tensions have once more escalated in between the Houthi, Shiite group led by Abdel-Malek al-Houthi and the Salafis, Sunni ultra-orthodox in the northern province of Amran.
Although al-Islah, Yemen’s main Sunni radical faction, which accounts within its ranks many Salafis, has strongly condemned Sharafeddin’s assassination, having called on the government to bring his killers to justice, Houthi leaders have pointed an accusing finger toward the political faction.
Abdulkarim al-Khiwani, a Houthi leader has already warned he would not allow al-Islah to murder his countrymen without severe repercussions.
A well-known figure of the NDC, Sharafeddin has been a strong advocated for dialogue and national cohesion.
While government officials have so far refused to draw a parallel in between Sharafeddi’s death and that of Iran diplomat last week by armed militants, politicians in Sana’a have theorized that the timing of the attacks suggest political motivations.
It is of course important to note that such arguments are mere conjectures.
However, given current heightened tensions, the idea that certain factions could be attempting to utilize insecurity as to derail the National Dialogue and prevent parties from reaching a political consensus, cannot be dismissed entirely.
As often in Yemen, not all is always as it seems.
UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar strongly denounced todays’ assassination, stressing that such criminal acts will not be tolerated. He called on all parties in Yemen to rally around the coalition government and act a barrier against pernitious dissident elements.