Yemeni officials have attributed soaring property prices in the Yemeni capital Sanaa to Houthi militias forcing a "demographic change" that includes settling their members coming from Saada, Amran and Hajjah. Al-Thawra newspaper quoted local sources as saying that the rise in the prices is caused by a huge Houthi demand to settle militia members in Sanaa. Houthi leaders are rushing to purchase properties and rent residential apartments, leading to higher rents and an increase in the price of land plots, the sources said. Most of the members brought to Sanaa are from Saada, Amran, and Hajjah, they said. As a result of the new changes, most residents in the capital are incapable of paying soaring rents amid a paralysis in the payment of their salaries in the past three years and a rise in the number of low-income families. Further, sources revealed that Houthi official Ahmed Hamed endorsed YER1.8 billion (one dollar equals around YER50) to pay rents to his followers coming from Saada and settling across Sanaa and its suburbs. They added that Hamed founded in 2016 a secret department, affiliated with the Supreme Political Council, to shelter the militants. The department, which falls under his direct supervision, has a clear mission to pay the rents and purchase lands, houses and villas for Houthi officials close to the group’s leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.