The Iranian-backed Houthi militia acknowledged that it is going through a dangerous phase, with mounting fears of a fate similar to the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, and its expectations for arrangements for a military escalation against it.

The Minister of Interior in the internationally unrecognized Houthi government, Abdul Karim al-Houthi - who is the uncle of the Houthi leader - said, “Yemen is going through a dangerous phase today that requires everyone to raise their level of vigilance and sense of responsibility to thwart the malicious conspiracies being hatched against it.”

Al-Houthi, who was speaking during a meeting of first-line leaders in his ministry (which is not internationally recognized), stressed "the necessity of implementing instructions and directives to the fullest."

In Sanaa, tribes from the Bani Matar district are demonstrating to demand retribution against the killers of three of their sons, who they said were leaders in the Houthi group. Tribes from Ibb Governorate (central country) are also demonstrating to demand the extradition of the killers of a prominent tribal sheikh who they said were officials in the group.

Al-Houthi said: “The enemy is lurking in Yemen, so everyone must be prepared to engage in this confrontation and thwart the conspiracies,” as he put it.

Local sources also reported that the Houthi group carried out a massive kidnapping campaign that affected a number of citizens in the Khadir District, east of the city of Taiz.

The sources said that the kidnapping campaign came against the backdrop of fears of movement against the group in those areas since the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.