Yemen's Presidential Council Chief Offers Amnesty to Houthi Defectors, Calls for National Mobilization

The head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, has promised amnesty for members of the Houthi movement who defect, while calling for broader national mobilization, according to a report from Anadolu Agency.

Al-Alimi said the amnesty would be issued at a later stage, in accordance with constitutional and legal procedures, suggesting that the offer would be formalized through Yemen's existing legal framework rather than through an immediate, informal declaration.

A call for national mobilization

Alongside the amnesty pledge, al-Alimi called for national mobilization, a term that in the context of Yemen's prolonged conflict typically signals an appeal for broader public and institutional support behind the internationally recognized government's efforts against the Houthi movement.

The Presidential Leadership Council, which al-Alimi chairs, functions as the leadership body representing Yemen's internationally recognized government, formed to unify anti-Houthi factions under a single governing structure.

Offers of amnesty to fighters willing to defect from the Houthi movement have featured periodically in the yearslong conflict in Yemen, as parties on both sides have sought to weaken their opponents' ranks and shift the balance of the conflict.

Details on the scope of the amnesty, including which categories of defectors would qualify and the specific legal procedures involved, were not immediately specified beyond al-Alimi's statement that they would follow constitutional and legal channels.