Yemen: "Youssef al-Madani... The Shadow General in the Houthi Group: Where Has He Disappeared Since His Appointment?"

Arab Gulf Newspaper - Ashraf Khalifa

The situation of the Houthi militia leader, Youssef al-Madani, who was appointed in mid-October as Chief of Staff of the Houthis, succeeding Mohammed al-Ghamari, who was killed in a previous Israeli raid, remains shrouded in mystery. The news of his death remained secret until it was announced shortly before al-Madani's appointment. More than a month has passed since al-Madani's appointment, without any public appearance, except for a few statements attributed to him, which raises many questions, especially since the statements continued to be published in the name of his predecessor, al-Ghamari, until two days before the announcement of his death. Two reasons for absence High-ranking military sources in the Yemeni Ministry of Defense suggested that "al-Madani's absence is due to one of two possibilities, either because of the strict security precautions imposed by the militia on its officials and military leaders, especially after the strikes the movement received, which revealed a major security breach that affected the highest levels." The other possibility, according to the sources, is that "he was injured in one of the Israeli strikes and is still receiving treatment, which prevents him from appearing in the media." Containing the void As for the "Houthis" taking the risk of giving the position of Chief of Staff to a person who may be injured and whose condition may worsen, the sources explained that "al-Ghamari and al-Madani are among the most prominent military leaders of the militia, and that al-Ghamari's absence from the scene, who was responsible for issuing military orders and managing the command and control room, caused a state of confusion among the middle leaders who began to wonder about the reason for his disappearance." The sources added that this "prompted the senior leaders to announce the death of al-Ghamari and to quickly appoint al-Madani as his successor, to contain the void, in an attempt to maintain the morale of their fighters and leaders, and that the alternative is ready and no less experienced than him, but the alternative was not ready or prepared as required, but this procedure allowed the leadership to alleviate the pressure related to the non-appearance of al-Ghamari, until it rearranges its affairs." The sources pointed out that "al-Madani is supposed to appear, even in a short shot, to prove his presence, as it is illogical that security precautions prevent them from showing him in a video clip, even for one minute," noting that "his non-appearance so far reinforces suspicions that his situation is not normal," according to her expression. Security precautions On the other hand, identical military sources ruled out the possibility of al-Madani being injured, attributing the reasons for his non-appearance until now to the strict security measures and precautions stemming from him personally; as he adopts a very cautious behavior, without even the need for orders or directives to be imposed on him, such as restricting his movement in anticipation of any targeting or penetration that may affect him. The sources said, "Al-Madani is known as one of the most cautious and suspicious Houthi leaders, and does not even inform his closest associates of his movements, and all his movements are carried out in complete secrecy, to the extent that his own family does not know his whereabouts until after he arrives at safe locations." The sources confirmed, according to available information, "that part of al-Madani's tasks are managed through what is known as (shadow men), who are trusted field and political leaders who take over coordination and implementation instead of him, within the framework of a deliberate distribution of powers to avoid concentrating leadership in one person, especially in a high-risk military environment." Shadow men The sources pointed out that "the Houthi militia's reliance on distributing tasks among shadow figures comes within the framework of a strategy that has been adopted to ensure the continuation of work and reduce the impact of the loss of any leader, especially after what al-Ghamari's death caused of confusion in the leadership structure, and they do not want that to be repeated." At the same time, the sources mentioned that "the targeting of al-Ghamari, and the fall of prominent leaders in the Lebanese Hezbollah militia; prompted the Houthi leaders to deal with any public appearance as a direct threat; which makes any appearance of al-Madani a likely target for that," noting that "his absence is part of a calculated strategy, aimed at showing the continuation of the leadership after the death of al-Ghamari, without risking highlighting a figure that could be easily targeted." The sources added that "Iran issued its directives to the Houthis to change the means of communication, and to rely on old telephone devices and get rid of modern smart phones, as well as changing their phone numbers and replacing them with new SIM cards, while also obligating them to reduce the use of telephones to the narrowest limits, and increase levels of security isolation."