The Houthi militias are once again targeting merchants and shop owners in Sanaa, after shutting down seven markets and 102 shops, and kidnapping more than 40 businessmen in a recent clampdown, local sources said. The sources stated that Houthi gunmen have patrolled the markets, forcing shop owners and merchants to pay sums of money to finance the group's military operations. The campaign launched two weeks ago was ordered by Houthi leaders after their meeting in Sanaa with industry and trade officials. The meeting resulted in a field visit targeting citizens under the pretext of controlling prices and detecting violations. Traders confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that, since the launch of the campaign, the group has kidnapped more than 40 merchants from their shops in Sanaa, including 15 who trade and sell fertilizers. The detainees were put in Sanaa prisons, and Houthis refused to release them or reopen the closed markets, unless they pay taxes. The group forced hundreds of shop owners to pay between YR100,000 and YR1 million depending on the volume of their commercial activity. Part of the money will be allocated for the group’s military operations. A businessman in Sanaa, who asked not to be named, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Houthis continue to loot and blackmail citizens. He said that the latest clampdown is part of hundreds of organized campaigns waged by the group against various Yemeni groups in Sanaa and other cities. Citizens are forced to pay royalties used to finance the group's projects, its sectarian agenda, and futile war, according to the businessman.