Daily Times

A 25-year-old woman was beaten to death in front of her two children by Houthi rebels in Yemen’s Ibb province, a family member said. Houthi militia members raided the house of Ahlam Al Ashary looking for her husband, the family member said. When they did not find him they kicked Al Ashary and beat her with sticks and the backs of their pistols until she died, said the relative, who refused to be named for fear of reprisals. The militants were searching for Al Ashary’s husband for his alleged ties to rival forces loyal to the internationally recognised government, the relative said. The attack took place in a rural area in the rebel-controlled Ibb province, where most residents have resisted Houthi rule. Photos of Al Ashari’s children hugging her coffin have circulated on social media outlets and anti-Houthi Yemeni news websites. sYemeni Information Minister Muammar Al Iryani called the killing “an outrageous terror crime” that attests to “the barbarism of Houthi militias”. The conflict in Yemen erupted in 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels overran the country’s northern parts and the capital Sanaa, forcing the government to flee to the south. Since 2015, Houthis have been fighting a Saudi-led military coalition that seeks to reinstate the government of President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.