Houthi militants storm home of Nobel Peace Laureate

Houthi militants stormed the home of Yemeni activist and Nobel peace prize winner Tawakkol Karman in Sanaa yesterday, shortly after the insurgency group signed a peace agreement with the government, Karman said in a statement.

According to Karman, 12 individuals affiliated with the Houthi group broke into her home and plundered it in the immediate aftermath of signing the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement yesterday evening.

The group signed the peace agreement with the Yemeni president in the presence of UN envoy and political forces, amidst the Houthis refusal to withdraw from the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

Karman has been known for her strict opposition to militant groups, including the Houthis, which she urged to submit its arms to the state and get involved in political work, accusing it of receiving Iranian funding and seeking to drag Yemen into civil strife.

For weeks, the Houthis have been staging protests and sit-ins at the entrances of Sanaa and near the headquarters of ministries in the city centre, calling for the resignation of the government and a reduction in fuel prices.

Critics of Houthis accuse them of seeking a return to the monarchy, overthrown by a revolution in 1962.

The Houthis, a Zaydi Shia group, was founded in 1992 by Hussein Badr Al-Houthi who was killed by government forces in 2004. Between 2004 and 2010, Yemen witnessed six wars between Houthis in northern Yemen and the government, leading to thousands of fatalities and injuries.