Houthis Bury Missiles in Secret Tunnels Under Yemeni Villages, Putting Civilians in Crosshairs

The Iran-backed Houthis have renewed campaign to seize civilian lands south of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, forcibly converting private properties into clandestine storage sites for missiles and armed drones. Local sources told Khabar Agency.

The Houthis have targeted villages in Sanhan district—including Dar Al-Hayd, Artal, and Hamal—under the false pretext of constructing “civilian shelters”, while verified intelligence confirms the operations involve digging secret tunnels to stockpile weapons.

The militants are conducting large-scale excavation projects in strategic mountainous zones, most notably Jabal Idris (referred to locally as “Al-Lahj Al-Kabeer”), where they are establishing an elaborate underground network to smuggle and store arms later deployed in attacks on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea.

A leaked image from Artal village reveals one such tunnel under construction, stretching toward Wadi Hali and Beit Bous, while satellite evidence confirms the transformation of Wadi Al-Lahj Al-Kabeer and Wadi Hamal into fortified military bases housing missile launchers and drone stockpiles.

By embedding military infrastructure in densely populated areas, the Houthis blatantly violate international humanitarian laws requiring armed groups to separate combat operations from civilian zones. Analysts warn this tactic intentionally places residents at risk of retaliatory strikes while exploiting their presence as human shields—a practice condemned under the Geneva Conventions.

Human rights monitors urge immediate action to halt the group’s systematic militarization of civilian spaces, emphasizing that unchecked tunnel construction and weapon proliferation threaten both regional stability and the safety of Yemeni civilians trapped in conflict zones.