Senior Houthi leaders allegedly flee Sana'a amid ongoing rain of US strikes

Senior Houthi leaders in Yemen have reportedly disappeared from public life in the capital Sana’a due to fears of more US airstrikes ordered by President Donald Trump, which have been ongoing for a third consecutive week.

This has been reported by the Asharq Al-Awsat, which believes that the top leadership of the Iran-backed Houthi group has fled the capital, though it is still under their control, and taken refuge in remote areas across the country.

Informed sources told the publication that the group’s leaders have severed traditional communication channels, with some going into hiding or relocating to undisclosed locations as a precaution against potential targeted strikes.

The sources also confirmed that no trace of the top two tiers of Houthi leadership has been found, neither in institutions under Houthi control in Sana’a, nor in the neighbourhoods and streets they once frequented in their luxury vehicles.

The Houthis have so far remained silent about the scale of their human and military losses from the US airstrikes that have been ordered by Trump in response to the militant's attacks on commercial vessels, including American, in the Red Sea.

However, the sources also note that several leaders outside the ruling family of Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi remain in Sana’a. Many of these figures have adopted strict security measures to avoid detection, including traveling in vehicles with tinted windows and covering their faces with cloaks when leaving temporary residences, Asharq Al-Awsat sources said.

By Nazrin Sadigova