Barran Press
Fierce clashes are ongoing in Al-Matoun district, located in the western part of Al-Jawf Governorate northeast Yemen, between Al-Shoulan tribesmen and Iran-backed Houthi members. The escalation follows the killing of a tribal member at a checkpoint, according to a tribal source who spoke on Sunday.
The source, providing information to "Baran Press," detailed that a significant Houthi military campaign, involving numerous vehicles, advanced towards the territories of the "Al-Shoulan Dhu Hussein Dahm" tribes in the Mu'aymirah sub-district of Al-Matoun. This movement was triggered by an attack from the tribesmen targeting a checkpoint where one of their kin was killed in a prior incident.
The tribal source further stated that Al-Shoulan fighters engaged the advancing Houthi forces upon their arrival at the "Al-Jar'oub" checkpoint, a site under Houthi control within the Mu'aymirah sub-district. The confrontations have continued without resolution, as the Houthi campaign has reportedly refused to retreat from the area.
Adding to the tensions, elements of the Houthi campaign have reportedly deployed towards the "Maqhad" fort, situated east of the Mu'aymirah area, in what appears to be an attempt to establish a complete siege around the Al-Shoulan tribe. As of 8:00 PM local time, sustained exchanges of fire involving medium-caliber weapons were reported, following attempts by Houthi militants to breach villages within the sub-district.
The current hostilities are rooted in an incident that occurred the previous week at the "Shajarah" checkpoint in Al-Hazm district. In that event, alleged members of the Iranian-backed Houthi group killed "Abdulwali Yahya Sham'an," a civilian from the Al-Shoulan tribe in the Mu'aymirah sub-district of Al-Matoun. Two other civilians, identified as "Ayman Saleh Al-Raimi" and "Mansour Manser Hajeb," sustained injuries in the same incident, further inflaming tensions between the Houthis and the local tribes.