Houthi militias are after gas exploration in the western coastal strip to meet local consumption needs, a plan that has kept them fighting to avoid losing their grip on Hodeidah. But the militias are facing defeat south of Hodeidah despite their mobilization in Sanaa, Ibb, Dhamar, Rameh and al-Mahweet, as well as attempts to lure tribesmen through the distribution of funds and assignment of positions. Houthi chief Abdul Malik al-Houthi is setting the stage for the aftermath of the insurgents defeat in Hodeidah by appointing a leader loyal to the group in Rima, in order to turn it into an alternative base for its militias. Hassan Maqbouli, appointed by the militias as deputy prime minister and minister of finance in the unrecognized insurgency government, said that the nature of the battle fought by his group in the West Coast and the border of Hodeidah is purely economic. Maqbouli revealed that the group has set plans for natural gas exploration in the West Coast to meet the needs of citizens under the control of the group and export the surplus. The Houthi official also indicated the group plans to transform Ras Issa oil port to a facility for the import and export of natural gas. Activists in Sanaa told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Houthi plans indicate why the group is fighting to keep Hodeidah and the West Coast under its control. They added that the insurgents are determined to remain an Iranian proxy. For the fourth year in a row, Ras Issa has remained unoperational after it stopped pumping crude oil via the export pipeline from Safer fields in Marib province, east of Sanaa. In the meantime, informed sources in Sanaa stated that Houthi ordered his brother Abdul Khaleq al-Houthi and senior militia leaders to oversee the battle in Hodeidah and the West Coast, which is about to fall into the hands of the legitimate forces and brigades of joint resistance backed by the coalition forces to support legitimacy. In a surprise move, Mahdi al-Mashat issued a decree appointing the groups tribal leader and field commander, Fares al-Habbari, as governor of Rima. According to observers, Houthis are planning to take the fortified town to initiate battles against the legitimate and resistance forces in Hodeidah and the West Coast. Leaders of the group and its governors in Dhamar, Ibb, Mahweet, Hajjah and Amran have continued to mobilize fighters to the west coast, and intensify fundraising for their war effort. Head of the insurgency council Mehdi al-Mashat appointed three tribal leaders of the Shura Council, which the group restructured by adding the membership of dozens of its followers illegally in an effort to transform it into its legislative institution. Houthis have also carried out large-scale arrests of military personnel who refused to join their ranks. Officers in Sanaa told Asharq Al-Awsat that the militias ordered all civilian men under 40 to head to training camps ahead of their deployment on West Coast battlefronts. However, the request was rejected, prompting the group to raid their homes and arrest them. Fearing arrest, many left their homes to safe areas while others decided to join regions that fall under the governments control in Maerib, Aden and the West Coast. Citizens in Mahweet reported that Houthi efforts to mobilize members had failed, and that the militias made more arrests and silenced opponents. Houthi Governor Faisal Haidar vowed to hunt down all anti-Houthi activists, who he claims are tarnishing the image of the group and contributing to the division of its ranks. Houthi official sources announced that the security forces have arrested a number of unidentified persons who are allegedly working to collect information about the group. Houthis Saba agency claimed that some of the detainees were working as part of a cell in Sanaa tasked to monitor the military and security sites of the group, and follow the movements of its leaders and members of the coup government. Over the past few days, the militia mobilized all medical staff to work around the clock in government-run hospitals under Houthi control due to the large number of wounded fighters in the West Coast, medical sources in Sanaa told Asharq al-Awsat.