Yemen: A woman's disappearance in Ibb reveals the presence of women kidnapping gangs in the Houthi stronghold.

The disappearance of a woman from Ibb Governorate (central Yemen) has revealed the existence of an armed gang active in kidnapping women in governorates under the control of the terrorist Houthi militia, led by individuals from Saada, the militia's main stronghold.

Local sources reported that a woman disappeared at the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan while leaving a money exchange office in the city of Ibb. It later emerged that she had been kidnapped by an armed gang.

The sources added that the woman's family spent days searching for her and filed reports with the Houthi militia's security services, before she was found two days ago in Dhamar Governorate in critical condition.

The sources explained that the woman was found with memory loss and in critical condition, and was transferred to a hospital in Ibb city.

Sources reported that the woman was found after a women's kidnapping gang was arrested in Saada, a Houthi stronghold, with six women in their possession. The gang, in turn, admitted that a similar gang affiliated with them in Dhamar was kidnapping 10 other women. It turned out that the woman kidnapped from Ibb was one of them.

Sources indicated that the militias kept the incident under strict secrecy and prevented activists in Ibb Governorate from publishing information about it, under the pretext of not disturbing the public peace.

The governorates under Houthi militia control are witnessing a frightening increase in kidnappings of children and women, amid a widespread presence of organized crime gangs.