Yemen: Houthi Psychological Warfare Via Mobile Messages Raises Alarm

Provocative and threatening text messages, allegedly originating from the Houthi militia and disseminated through the Yemen Mobile network, are generating significant concern and unease in liberated Yemeni governorates. These messages reportedly contain incitements for citizens to join the militia and threats against vital infrastructure in these areas.

The messages are seen as part of a broader media and psychological campaign by the militia aimed at undermining public morale, fostering fear and anxiety, and exerting pressure on local communities in the liberated governorates. This tactic repurposes telecommunication services, traditionally for civilian use, to deliver messages of threat and intimidation.

Concerns extend beyond the content of the messages to questions about their origin, transmission mechanisms, and the extent of oversight on telecommunication services, particularly given the widespread reliance on mobile phones in daily life across the governorates.

These developments are amplified by the extensive geographical reach of the liberated areas, from the temporary capital Aden to provinces like Lahj, Abyan, Shabwa, Hadhramaut, Al Mahrah, Marib, and parts of Taiz and Hodeidah. In these regions, communication networks are essential for daily interaction, information exchange, and monitoring security and living conditions.

Observers suggest that leveraging communication networks for military, security, and inflammatory messages constitutes a form of psychological warfare targeting local populations. The objective appears to be destabilizing trust and security, and exacerbating public apprehension, especially in areas proximate to frontlines and critical facilities.

Previous UN reports have highlighted the exploitation of Yemen's telecommunication sector for war-related purposes. A 2023 report by a UN Panel of Experts indicated the Houthi militia's use of controlled telecommunication companies to send millions of SMS messages for fundraising and garnering support for their military endeavors.

Yemen Mobile is at the center of scrutiny regarding the Yemeni government's ability to exercise regulatory control over the telecommunication sector, especially since a significant portion of the sector's institutional and operational infrastructure remains based in Sana'a, which is under Houthi control.

According to the UN Panel of Experts' 2025 report, the Public Telecommunications Corporation holds a 59% stake in Yemen Mobile. The report also noted the continued use of SMS for fundraising campaigns supporting Houthi military activities. These circumstances place the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology under pressure to clarify the nature of oversight on the company and its capacity to prevent the misuse of its services for political and military messaging, particularly when such messages reach citizens in areas outside Houthi control.

The Ministry is also urged to clarify its stance on the ongoing use of telecommunication networks for activities beyond civilian services and to investigate the message transmission mechanisms, their sources, and the entities controlling their technical and operational systems.

In a related development, the Yemeni Ministry of Interior issued a warning in September 2026 to citizens in liberated governorates about Houthi messages transmitted via the Yemen Mobile and YOU networks. These messages, under the guise of "amnesty and return," were flagged for potentially luring citizens and extracting personal information for security exploitation.

The Ministry advised citizens to disregard these messages, refrain from contacting the provided numbers, avoid sharing personal data, and not to repost or circulate them, emphasizing the need for vigilance against disinformation and deception campaigns.

These warnings underscore the growing concern that communication services could be weaponized for psychological pressure, intelligence gathering, and citizen targeting. This necessitates coordinated efforts between security agencies and telecommunication sector authorities to implement technical and legal measures to curb such practices.

Threats to vital infrastructure in the southern regions, mentioned in some messages, raise further questions about the militia's objectives in disseminating such content and its potential to disrupt economic and security stability, thereby alarming citizens, investors, and workers in key sectors.

Rejection of these threats indicates that intimidation and blackmail tactics will not achieve the militia's goals nor diminish the resolve of the people in the liberated governorates to defend their land and gains. Any targeting of civilian or vital facilities would carry severe humanitarian and economic repercussions extending beyond the affected areas.

Conversely, a responsible approach to these threats involves enhancing security vigilance, verifying disseminated information, and preventing inflammatory messages from inciting panic or spreading rumors.

Amidst these developments, there are increasing calls for the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology to take a clear stance, rather than remaining silent or merely reacting to the consequences of these messages after they reach the public.

Demands include launching a technical and administrative investigation into the sources of the messages and the entities responsible for their dispatch and transmission. Clarification is also sought regarding the extent of Houthi control over Yemen Mobile's operational systems and its impact on subscribers in liberated governorates.

Furthermore, there are calls for legal and technical measures to prevent the exploitation of telecommunication networks for incitement, threats, and deception campaigns. Enhanced coordination between the Ministry and security agencies is also requested to safeguard citizen data and privacy, and to establish clear mechanisms for receiving, verifying, and addressing citizen reports of suspicious messages.

Ultimately, the issue transcends mere text messages; it concerns information security, privacy, societal safety, and the government's capacity to protect the telecommunication sector from political and military manipulation.

As the Houthi militia continues to employ various means to influence communities in the liberated governorates, the government and relevant authorities bear the responsibility to adopt a serious stance, provide clear answers to the public, and ensure that telecommunication services, for which citizens pay, do not become instruments of their threat or endangerment.