Following a week of intense fighting just north of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a Mayor, Abdel-Kader Hillal managed after several failed attempts to broker a truce in between the Houthis (Shiite tribal group organized under the leadership of Abdel-Malek al-Houthi) and al-Ahmar tribe (close supporters of the Salafis, ultra-conservative Sunni orthodox), this Tuesday.
While officials have expressed some reservations in regards to the truce, since previous cease-fire agreements and peace declarations were reneged before, all hope that this time guns will fall silent long enough for negotiation to get underway.
Yemen’s recent tribal overspill as some media have called it was a long time in the making. Ever since 2011 when the Houthis used Yemen power vacuum to expand their zone of influence well beyond their stronghold of Sa’ada (northern province of Yemen bordering Saudi Arabia), al-Islah and its leadership, essentially al-Ahmar tribal clan, have opposed their rising influence, warning of the rising influence of Iran through its proxies, namely the Houthis.
In perfect symmetry, the Houthis have grown more hostile towards Salafi militants in Yemen highlands since 2011, as they have perceived their presence as a covert threat against their own rule. The Houthis have long claimed that Saudi Arabia has aimed to exert its power over Yemen by backing Sunni religious factions, in order to weaken Shia Islam and prevent any faction from ever challenging its hegemony in the region.
Threats and brewing tensions finally came to a blow in late last October, when the Houthis decided to move against Dar al-Hadith religious centre, by alleging Salafi militants aimed to raise an army of jihadists against their community, under cover of religious studies.
When al-Ahmar clam pledged his tribesmen to the fight, intent on supporting his political affiliates, the Salafis, what started off as a local conflict turned into a bitter regional war with strong sectarian undertone.
Under the new ceasefire agreement, both sides have agreed to withdraw their troops from Amran.
It is important to note, that clans within the Hashid tribes have reneged their allegiance to al-Ahmar family and sided with the Houthis, a significant break in terms of tribal allegiance.