ADEN — Plunged into darkness, low on water and short of food, Samah Mulhi and her family huddle in their home in the Yemeni city of Aden. The southern port is under siege by the Houthis, an Iran-allied militia. “Average people — doctors, teachers and workers — took up weapons to defend themselves,” said Mohammed Al-Makawi, a local resident. Residents say soldiers allied to the ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh in army bases quit their posts and left behind weapons that were grabbed by the southerners, who organized themselves into popular committees. While military expertise is lacking, there is no shortage of fighting spirit. “They (the Houthis) will not control our city. The resistance and the free sons of Aden are strong and will repel them,” Mulhi, a civil society activist, told Reuters by telephone from her house in the stricken district of Khor Maksar. “The Houthi snipers outside will shoot anything that moves ... But can you imagine that we, or those who have had shells fired into their family homes, will accept the invasion?” she said. “We don't know why they came here or what they want, but we youth will fight for our city, even if we can't match their heavy armor,” said the man, a factory worker before the fighting started. — Reuters
