Houthi coup militias in Yemen have been seeking to invest in the funeral of its Head of Political Council, Saleh al-Sammad, to showcase its fake popularity by forcing employees and students to participate in the funeral on Saturday. In the context of the mistrust of the ranks of the insurgents in the internationally unrecognized Houthi government, parliamentary sources in Sanaa told Asharq Al-Awsat that the group managed to gather only 23 MPs under its control in the presence of new Head of the council Mahdi al-Mashat in order for him take the illegal oath of appointment. Deputies in Sanaa attributed the low attendance of deputies in the Councils headquarters to the growing public disapproval among them of the survival of the coup authority. Left-wing MP, who supported Houthi militia’s coup, Ahmed Saif Hashed, verbally attacked the appointment of Mashat, whom he accused of banditry, failure to take charge of the economic file, and responsibility for the scandal of importing a huge shipment of contaminated fuel. Hashed also accused the militia of deciding on behalf of the deputies in Sanaa and areas that fall under the group’s control by appointing Mashat without their consent. He stressed in a statement on his official Facebook page that all previous meetings held by the deputies in Sanaa were illegal due to the absence of the quorum or the minimum attendance. Meanwhile, officials in Sanaa and public school administrators reported that they had been instructed by militia elements to gather on Saturday to attend Sammad’s funeral. They said these elements have threatened to punish those who would fail to participate as the militia is seeking mass participation to show its fake popularity. Houthi leader Hamoud Abbad, who is secretary of the capital Sanaa, for his part, headed a meeting on Thursday to prepare for Sammad’s funeral and ordered the government agencies to gather and prepare to receive members of the group and its followers coming from other provinces for the participation in the event.