A local source in the capital Sana'a reported on Thursday that the Houthi militia, designated as a terrorist organization by the international community, abducted a citizen from the Saref area in Bani Hushaish district, east of the capital Sana'a.

The source, who spoke to "Barran Press" on condition of anonymity for security reasons, stated that Houthi militiamen abducted citizen "Mahdi Shubaih" from a security checkpoint in the Saref area while he was on his way to perform the Hajj pilgrimage.

According to the source, the Houthis accuse Shubaih of causing the injury and expulsion of their preacher from one of the mosques in the area last year, after they forcibly replaced him with his brother.

He said that the residents of Saref, after the Houthis abducted Mehdi Shubaih, surrounded the security checkpoint and gave the Houthis a 3-hour deadline to release him, which forced the militia to release him, fearing an escalation of the situation, as the area had witnessed previous clashes between the two sides. He added that Shabeih's release was "humiliating."

In late 2022, the Saref area in the Bani Hushaish district witnessed a military campaign by the Houthis, accompanied by a tight siege on the area, raids on homes, the killing of civilians, and the arrest of a number of them.

The Houthis carried out the campaign after they liquidated one of the sheiks of Saref, named "Adel Abdullah Shubaihal-Sarafi," in one of the streets of the capital Sana'a, against the background of the rejection of the residents of the area to attempts by leaders in the Houthi militia to seize large areas of land owned by citizens.