Houthis Force Families of 70 “Salafi” Students to Evacuate Educational Center in Ibb
Yemen Monitor / Exclusive / Ibb:
The Houthi group has forced at least 70 students and their families, who study at the Al-Imam Al-Shafi’i Center—affiliated with the Salafi movement—to evacuate the facility in Ibb Governorate (Central Yemen).
Local sources reported that Houthi gunmen stormed Al-Imam Al-Shafi’i Center in the village of “Mater,” located in the countryside of Ibb city, and arbitrarily and abruptly expelled dozens of students from their housing.
The sources added that, three days ago, the Houthis arrived at the center, confiscated the library, and prevented worshippers from performing the “Qiyam” prayers (night prayers performed during Ramadan). They ordered the residents to relocate to another Salafi center managed by Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Burai, located in the Mafraq Hubaysh area.
Video footage showed students evacuating the center and loading their belongings onto vehicles that filled the areas surrounding the facility.
The Houthis have previously expelled Salafi students from the Dar al-Hadith center in Sa’wan, in the capital Sana’a, following a series of harassments and raids that ended with the seizure of the center and its affiliated buildings.
