Iran-backed Houthis plan not to open the main roads in Taiz: Sources

Well-informed Yemeni sources said that the Iran-backed Houthis are planning to implement formulas similar to the play of releasing the military commander, Major General Faisal Rajab, in a number of governorates in order to thwart any upcoming negotiations imposed on them.

The Houthis' goal for these plans is to evade the imposition on them of opening the crossings and the main roads that they close between the governorates, by adopting a partial plan to open crossings that corresponds to the military positioning of their militias and their survival in their main strongholds for years. The sources said.

The Houthis included their plan to open an outlet to the city of Taiz from the western side, which is the Sharaab junction outlet, provided that it is a pedestrian crossing port, not vehicles, while the vehicular crossing will be through the air defense road, which the militias will announce to guarantee its rehabilitation. According to the sources.

The sources said that the militia will announce the opening of the specific crossings, which are not major and do not end the siege on the city of Taiz, but rather legitimize the Houthi plan to adopt marginal crossings for the city that indirectly reinforce the siege.

This move comes to market what Houthis considers a "Yemeni-Yemeni" dialogue, as they claim, and thus put obstacles to any comprehensive settlement that would end the war, according to political observers.