Barran Press
The Houthi killing of Sheikh Saleh Hantoush, director of a Quran memorization institute in Reima province's Al-Salafia district, has triggered widespread condemnation across Yemen. Sheikh Hantous died yesterday following hours of siege and attack by internationally blacklisted Houthi militants, local Reima sources reported.
Sources speaking to "Baran Press" indicated Hantous death came after he resisted a Houthi campaign, which was met with significant Houthi reinforcements, including dozens of armed vehicles. His wife was also severely injured; her condition remains unconfirmed.
Prior to his death, Sheikh Hantous released an audio recording, reviewed by "Baran Press," asserting he was a target of systematic Houthi oppression.
The incident has drawn immense denunciation from the legitimate government, political parties, and religious bodies. They described the crime as "barbaric," citing it as further evidence of the Houthi group's "bloody and sectarian nature" and its attempts to suppress dissent and impose its agenda by force.
Yemeni government entities and officials, according to "Baran Press" monitoring, hold the Houthi group fully responsible for the attack on Sheikh Hantoush. They urge the international community and human rights organizations to intervene immediately to halt Houthi crimes against civilians and religious and social figures in areas under their control.
The internationally recognized Yemeni government strongly condemned the "heinous crime" committed by the "terrorist" Houthi group against Sheikh Saleh Hantoush and his grandson Hamza. The attack followed the siege and targeting of their home in Al-Salafia. The government stated this "horrific crime" adds to the Houthis' "dark record of violations," reflecting a "systematic policy of persecution and revenge" and a "deeply rooted sectarian and terrorist approach" within their "Imami priestly project."
During its regular meeting in Aden, the interim capital, chaired by Prime Minister Salem Saleh Bin Brik, the Cabinet affirmed that Houthi crimes and violations against Yemenis who reject their oppressive agenda "will not go unpunished."
Yemeni Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani declared the Yemeni people would not remain silent, asserting that the "blood of the innocent will not be in vain, but will increase the Yemenis' determination to confront and overthrow this group."
Al-Eryani condemned the "barbaric crime" against Sheikh Saleh Hantoush, one of Reima province's most prominent Quranic teachers, and his family. He explained the crime occurred after the Houthis closed the Quranic institute in Al-Salafia, managed by Hantoush for three decades, and burned its books. This, he said, was an attempt to obliterate Yemen's "moderate religious identity" and impose a "sectarian project imported from Iran."
He emphasized that this crime highlights the Houthi group's "stark contradiction," as they exploit the Palestinian cause and champion "support for Gaza" while committing murder and terrorism against Yemenis. He stated they continue to "destroy lives and confiscate rights, serving an Iranian expansionist project that targets Yemen's security, stability, and national and religious identity."
The Yemeni Information Minister called on the international community and human rights organizations to condemn the crime, take "clear and firm stances," and act urgently to classify the Houthis as a "global terrorist organization," dry up their funding, and support the legitimate government's efforts to restore the state and end the coup.
Demands for Accountability
The National Bloc of Yemeni Political Parties and Components affirmed the crime embodies the Houthi group's "savage pattern" of targeting innocents, blowing up homes, and terrorizing communities, in "flagrant defiance of all international laws and humanitarian values." The bloc demanded human rights organizations, the United Nations, and the Security Council act urgently to classify the group as a "terrorist organization," impose "deterrent sanctions" on its leaders, and intervene immediately to rescue the injured and lift the siege.
The bloc held the Houthi group and its supporters fully responsible, emphasizing that the blood of Sheikh Saleh Hantoush and other martyrs "will remain fuel for the great battle of Yemenis to end the coup and restore the state and build a Yemen of justice and citizenship."
The Ministry of Endowments and Guidance mourned Sheikh Saleh Hantoush, describing his killing as a "treacherous and heinous crime" after his home and mosque in Al-Salafia were besieged and attacked by the Houthi group. The ministry's obituary noted Sheikh Hantoush, a 70-year-old, spent his life serving the Quran, teaching, and mediating. Despite his piety, he faced Houthi harassment and persecution, culminating in his "cold-blooded assassination," which also killed several family members amidst widespread panic.
The ministry stated this crime is part of a series of Houthi violations against scholars and preachers, emphasizing the group "disregards the sanctity of religion and the reverence for scholars," aiming to silence free voices and instill fear as part of an "alien sectarian project."
The ministry held the Houthi group "fully criminally and morally responsible," noting "such crimes will not be subject to prescription," and are "new evidence of the terrorist and aggressive nature" of the group. The ministry concluded that targeting scholars would not deter them but increase their resolve to confront the "extremist Houthi project."
Brutality Equated to Occupation
The Popular Resistance Council in Reima province affirmed Sheikh Saleh Hantous blood "would not be shed in vain" and vowed accountability. The council stated Hantoush became a martyr defending himself and his home against a "Houthi arsenal bristling with weapons and cowardice," which besieged and shelled his home with "brutality comparable only to the brutality of the Zionist occupation."
The statement noted Hantous bravely resisted, refusing to surrender despite the siege and shelling, "fighting until the last bullet" and ascending "proud, honorable, victorious for his dignity." His wife, wounded while reloading ammunition for him, also showed "heroic steadfastness."
The Popular Resistance Council called for general mobilization in Reima province, asserting the Houthi project targets "every free voice, every honorable home, and every person who refuses to submit." It urged all republican national forces to undertake a "comprehensive national battle" against this "bloody Imami project" that "replicates occupation under religious masks and false rhetoric." The statement also urged media professionals to document the crime and expose Houthi practices that "hide behind Palestinian slogans while committing the same crimes in Reima and elsewhere as the Zionist occupation commits in Gaza."
A Republican Ideal Under Threat
The local authority leadership in Reima province mourned Sheikh Saleh Hantoush, detailing how the Houthi group besieged his home and family before shelling it. The authority stated the 70-year-old sheikh, dedicated to Quranic teaching, bravely confronted attackers with his personal weapon until his martyrdom, a "heroic stance" that will endure in local memory.
The statement lauded the deceased as a free and honorable man who bravely opposed Houthi "extremist ideas and destructive calls," defending religious values and the Quran's status until his death. The Reima local authority held the "terrorist" Houthi group fully responsible for Sheikh Hantoush's assassination, his family's safety, and the accompanying "brutal violations," including siege, terrorizing residents, and targeting the Quran memorization institute. It affirmed the incident is a "heinous crime" added to the group's record of violations, exposing its "aggressive nature towards religious and social figures."
Fragile Project, Deep-Seated Fear
The Yemeni Islah Party stated Sheikh Saleh Hantous killing reveals the "fragility of the Houthi group's project" and their fear of the "essence of the republican idea" he represented. Adnan Al-Odeini, deputy head of the party's information and culture department, noted on X that a "special task force with all its equipment came from Saada to Reima just to raid a rural house inhabited by an elderly sheikh over seventy with his women and grandchildren."
Al-Odeini stressed this was "not just a crime but a shocking scene that exposes the imbalance of power between an armed crowd and an unarmed man who carries nothing but his will." He added that Hantoush "was not directly involved in political work, but he continued to work at the heart of the republican idea, teaching people and carrying a message that generations of Yemenis who believe that man is born free were raised on." The Islah spokesman described Hantoush as a "martyr of a stand," asserting his targeting is "an implicit admission from the priesthood that it is still defeated by the idea of the republic, and that the sheikh's free voice is stronger than a full battalion."
Inherent Criminality
The Yemeni Scholars Association formally condemned the Houthi crime against Sheikh Saleh Hantoush as "heinous," reflecting the group's "clear hostility towards scholars, preachers, and houses of God." The association affirmed this crime is part of a "systematic plan" to target Yemen's "religious identity" by silencing voices and spreading terror, serving their "alien sectarian project."
The association held the Houthi group "full legal and criminal responsibility," calling for accountability and urging the legitimate leadership and state institutions to increase efforts to protect scholars. It also called on the Yemeni people to unite against this "treacherous Houthi aggression" to liberate Houthi-controlled areas and rescue citizens from their oppression.
Parliamentarian and Yemeni businessman Sheikh Hamid Al-Ahmar mourned Sheikh Saleh Hantous, calling him a "heroic martyr". Al-Ahmar stated the "cowardly crime" committed by the "terrorist Houthi gang" against Hantoush and his family is "additional evidence of this group's criminality, its stripping away of all religious and moral values, its adoption of hateful sectarianism, and its behaviors alien to Yemeni society." He asserted the crime proves that "talking about any peace with this group is no longer acceptable," stressing "Yemenis have no option but to purify the country from its filth and its despicable ideology."
Houthi Fear Mounts
Member of the Presidential Leadership Council Abdullah Al-Alimi stated the "heinous" Houthi crime against Sheikh Saleh Hantoush reflects the group's "inherent criminal behavior" and reveals their "escalating fear" of the Yemeni people. Al-Alimi noted on social media that the "panic and hysteria" driving Houthi pursuits and arrests of free Yemenis expose the "fragility of the group" that "entrenches itself behind an arsenal of weapons in the face of a citizen who possesses nothing but the Quran and a stance."
He added that this "crazy escalation" in recent arrests and violations reflects a "revengeful state" against every free Yemeni who refuses to submit. He concluded: "May God have mercy on Sheikh Saleh Hantoush and his brave family. He lived as a free teacher, and died a proud hero, to confirm to all of us that the Yemeni people do not die, and that heroism still beats in their conscience."