Houthis target Sanaa bakeries to fund war effort

Yemen's capital Sanaa is facing a looming bread shortage after the terrorist Houthi militia shut dozens of bakeries in a campaign to extract illegal payments from owners, targeting even charitable bakeries that feed poor families while forcing others to use low-quality flour.

Local sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Houthi-controlled industry and trade authorities had deployed about 12 inspection teams since the middle of last week to raid, shut down and extort money from some 78 bakeries in the Maeen and Al-Wahda districts, citing alleged violations of bread weight regulations.

Bakery owners said the inspections were a pretext to impose more levies and force them to fund the Houthi war effort under threat of closure.