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Article snippet: BEIRUT, Lebanon — The rebels who control Sana, the capital of Yemen, have tightened their grip on the city and its people in recent weeks, shutting off access to the internet, blocking social media sites and sending gunmen to raid the homes of anyone they suspect of opposing them. Hundreds of people have been detained, and prices for basic goods like food and fuel are soaring, threatening to exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis. The power consolidation by the rebels, who are aligned with Iran and known as the Houthis, is a grim new chapter in the war in Yemen and highlights the tremendous barriers facing international efforts to end it. It also underlines the failure of the Houthis’ foes, who include other Yemeni forces and Arab countries like Saudi Arabia, to turn the rebels’ political isolation into an advantage on the battlefield. This month began with an event that could have altered the course of the war: the killing by Houthi forces of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former president of Yemen who had been the rebels’ most important ally in the war. Mr. Saleh, who had served as president for three decades before being pushed out in 2012 after an Arab Spring uprising, was a towering figure in Yemeni politics. In allying with the Houthis, an unsophisticated Islamist movement from northern Yemen, Mr. Saleh provided both political acumen and well-trained, well-equipped fighting forces. The Houthi alliance with Mr. Saleh’s political party, the General People’s ... Link to the full article to read more