Taiz.. When the military force collides with the consciousness of the city, a call of the civil force of the besieged communities is written Tawfiq Al Hamidi In September 2026, the Houthi movement advanced into parts of the Taiz countryside and the west coast, bringing the war back to the gates of a city that had resisted submission for more than a decade. The paradox seems obvious: how does a group achieve consecutive victories on maps, and then collide with a city exhausted from a siege and lacking many of the elements of military power? Terrain or weapon calculations are not enough to answer; In addition to her battle on the ground, Taiz is waging a deeper fight for society's right to reject the authority imposed on her. Military power is based on the ability to advance, control and coerce, but control is not synonymous with stable rule. Occupying a site does not mean acquiring the loyalty of its inhabitants, and silencing resistance does not mean changing convictions. Here the strangeness of Taiz is evident: her political awareness preceded her weaponry, and opposition to the Houthis was not the beginning of her connection with the idea of ​​freedom. The 2011 squares were an expression of a society where the values ​​of participation and citizenship were shaped by education, trade unionism, commerce, immigration and partisan experiences. When the war came, the means of defense changed, not the root of the problem. A part of society went from peacefully demanding change to supporting armed resistance against a project that seeks to monopolize power. This does not mean that all combatants represent civilian values, or that weapons do not threaten them; But this explains why many saw the resistance as a defense of a political right that preceded the war, and not just a dispute over a position or interest. Taiz's internal strength is characterized by its multiplicity of sources and its relative independence from one center: a city connected to its village, extended families in Yemen and abroad, a republican memory and a space of teachers, merchants, students, women, professional unions and civic initiatives. These urban networks do not necessarily produce an army, but they give society the ability to mobilize resources, take in the displaced, help the wounded and preserve the meaning of solidarity when institutions fail. The pluralism that makes it difficult to unify decisions may also make it difficult to uproot rejection from society. In contrast, the Houthi movement derives an important aspect of its power from a hierarchical leadership structure, ideological mobilization and coercive control over institutions and resources, supported by advanced military capabilities.

Taiz.. When the military force collides with the consciousness of the city, a call of the civil force of the besieged communities is written Tawfiq Al Hamidi In September 2026, the Houthi movement advanced into parts of the Taiz countryside and the west coast, bringing the war back to the gates of a city that had resisted submission for more than a decade. The paradox seems obvious: how does a group achieve consecutive victories on maps, and then collide with a city exhausted from a siege and lacking many of the elements of military power? Terrain or weapon calculations are not enough to answer; In addition to her battle on the ground, Taiz is waging a deeper fight for society's right to reject the authority imposed on her. Military power is based on the ability to advance, control and coerce, but control is not synonymous with stable rule. Occupying a site does not mean acquiring the loyalty of its inhabitants, and silencing resistance does not mean changing convictions. Here the strangeness of Taiz is evident: her political awareness preceded her weaponry, and opposition to the Houthis was not the beginning of her connection with the idea of ​​freedom. The 2011 squares were an expression of a society where the values ​​of participation and citizenship were shaped by education, trade unionism, commerce, immigration and partisan experiences. When the war came, the means of defense changed, not the root of the problem. A part of society went from peacefully demanding change to supporting armed resistance against a project that seeks to monopolize power. This does not mean that all combatants represent civilian values, or that weapons do not threaten them; But this explains why many saw the resistance as a defense of a political right that preceded the war, and not just a dispute over a position or interest. Taiz's internal strength is characterized by its multiplicity of sources and its relative independence from one center: a city connected to its village, extended families in Yemen and abroad, a republican memory and a space of teachers, merchants, students, women, professional unions and civic initiatives. These urban networks do not necessarily produce an army, but they give society the ability to mobilize resources, take in the displaced, help the wounded and preserve the meaning of solidarity when institutions fail. The pluralism that makes it difficult to unify decisions may also make it difficult to uproot rejection from society. In contrast, the Houthi movement derives an important aspect of its power from a hierarchical leadership structure, ideological mobilization and coercive control over institutions and resources, supported by advanced military capabilities.