Bani Matar Tribes Accuse Houthi Officials of Seizing Farmland Near Sanaa

Citizens and tribal members from the Bani Matar district, west of Sanaa, have accused influential leaders within the Houthi militia and officials from the General Authority for Land and Property to be involved in a systematic confiscation of vast tracts of their private agricultural land and real estate. This action is reportedly being carried out under the guise of so-called "urban planning schemes and newly established road networks."

Residents of the Ja'adib area in Bani Matar stated that influential figures within the General Authority for Lands, Surveying, and Urban Planning, in coordination with officials from the Public Works and Roads Office in Sanaa Governorate, are imposing what they describe as "illegal and illegitimate" engineering plans. These plans aim to expropriate approximately 75,737 agricultural dunams (a unit of land measurement) of their private and historical properties.

The affected residents have shared complaints indicating that the targeted lands are private holdings inherited from their ancestors, supported by centuries-old legal documents and deeds. They assert that these lands do not belong to the state or the endowments sector and represent the sole source of income for hundreds of families in the region.

They pointed out that technical committees have deliberately drawn unjustified routes and deviations that pass through fields and farms, with the objective of seizing the largest possible portion of agricultural land under the pretext of public interest and organization. However, they claim the true intention is to allocate the land for investment projects belonging to leaders within the Houthi movement.

These accusations arise amidst widespread land confiscation campaigns targeting citizens' lands and farms in various Sanaa districts, including Hamdan, Sanhan, and Bani Hushaysh. Thousands of dunams have been fenced off and seized under different pretexts, such as "Armed Forces Lands" or "Structural Plans." This situation has exacerbated tribal anger and resentment due to the encroachment on private property and the destruction of residents' livelihoods.