Houthi Forced Conscription Intensifies in Ibb Amidst Heavy Frontline Losses

Houthi militias have imposed a state of maximum alert and mandatory general mobilization across the province of Ibb, implementing widespread conscription efforts in an attempt to compensate for severe human losses on the western fronts of Taiz and along the border with Lahj governorate. This escalation follows significant casualties sustained during the government's extensive military operation, "Dawn of Yemen."

Eyewitnesses reported that the militias utilized mosque pulpits in Ibb city and its various districts, including Jabal, Yarim, Dhi Al-Sufal, and Al-Siani, following Friday prayers to organize armed rallies under the banner of "General Mobilization." Clerics and supervisors were reportedly instructed to deliver inflammatory sermons, urging tribal members to bolster training camps, recruit young men, and dispatch them urgently to active combat fronts, coinciding with intensified fighting in Taiz and Marib.

According to tribal sources, local militia leaders and supervisors from Sa'dah are exerting intense pressure on tribal elders, neighborhood leaders, and tribal sheikhs in Ibb to submit lists of new recruits from each isolated community and village. The militias are exploiting the deteriorating living and economic conditions of citizens, offering financial incentives and material provisions to encourage families and young men to enlist in forced conscription efforts.

Medical sources in Ibb city confirmed the arrival of hundreds of bodies and wounded militia members at provincial hospitals in the past few hours. These casualties were reportedly transported from the western Taiz fronts, specifically the areas around Jabal Han and Muqbanah, and from regions near the Bab al-Mandab strait and Lahj.

Earlier, the spokesperson for the government forces announced that approximately 950 Houthi elements were neutralized, and 380 military vehicles and armored cars were destroyed or damaged during recent confrontations and coalition airstrikes. This development is believed to be the primary driver behind the unprecedented mobilization in Ibb, aimed at addressing the immediate numerical deficit.

These widespread recruitment campaigns have generated significant discontent and dissatisfaction among the province's residents. Yemeni human rights organizations have expressed concerns regarding families being coerced into sending their children, particularly minors, to their deaths under duress. Meanwhile, families in Ibb continue to express their silent opposition to mandatory conscription policies and the construction of new cemeteries by the militias to accommodate the increasing influx of their fallen fighters.