Houthi leader condemns killings in Syria, accuses US and Israel of backing ‘Takfiris’

The leader of the Houthi movement in Yemen has condemned the recent killings by Syrian security forces, and said that he holds their military, political and financial backers accountable.

In a speech yesterday, Sayyed Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi accused “Takfiri groups” of committing acts of genocide against unarmed Syrian civilians. “They serve the interests of Israel and the United States by tearing apart Syria’s social fabric,” he said, alleging further that their brutality is the result of “American, Israeli and Zionist engineering,” designed to distort the image of Islam.

Al-Houthi pointed out that, “Israel has declared its protection of the Druze in Sweida, and because of this, Takfiri groups do not dare to harm them but instead show them respect.” Similarly, he argued that the US presents itself as the protector of the Kurds by arming and recruiting them, leaving other Syrians vulnerable.

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“These groups are not engaged in true jihad,” he asserted, referring to Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), which is now integrated into the Syrian security forces. “If they were, they would be fighting Israel.” Instead, he described them as criminals who document and boast about their atrocities online.

His remarks came as more than 1,000 people were killed in Syria’s coastal cities, including at least 745 Alawite civilians, amid ongoing clashes involving security forces, their allies and militants allegedly linked to the former government of Bashar Al-Assad.

Al-Houthi’s condemnation comes as Syria’s interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa vowed to launch “a fact-finding committee regarding the events on the coast and form a higher committee.” Al-Sharaa had said earlier that an “independent committee” had been formed to “investigate the violations against civilians and identify those responsible for them,” adding that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.

The Syrian Defence Ministry said today that its military operation against “remnants of the former regime” in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus has concluded.

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