[4] As the Salafis refused, Houthi rebels responded by imposing a siege on Dammaj, closing the main entrances leading to the town.

[12] Houthi rebels later advanced and captured many positions evacuated by the outgunned Salafi fighters and subsequently demolished the symbolic Dar al-Hadith religious school after months of fighting.

[14] Yemeni troops were deployed to Dammaj and evacuated all Salafi fighters and their families, as well as foreign students to the neighboring governorates, thereby handing over victory to the Houthis.

[16] Other observers believe that the Dammaj siege was representative of a regional contest between Saudi Arabia, who traditionally supported the Salafis, and Iran who backed the Houthi movement.

[18] Imam Muqbil bin Hadi al-Wadi'i, a Yemeni student of the Islamic University of Medina in Saudi Arabia, founded the Dar al-Hadith institution at Dammaj in 1979, located in the heart of Saada governorate which would later be the stronghold of the Houthi movement.

[22] During the Houthi insurgency between 2004 and 2010, the Yemeni government, led by President Ali Abdullah Saleh, recruited over 5,000 Salafi fighters to fight alongside them.

[4] In response to the "Karama Massacre" incident at the capital Sanaa, which prompted a flood of army and government defections nationwide, the Houthis took the opportunity to seize control of Saada in March 2011.

[25] By July 2011, the Houthis had slowly expanded their insurgency towards neighbouring Al Jawf Governorate, clashing with tribal fighters loyal to the Sunni Islamist Al-Islah party,[26] in which over 120 people were killed.

Houthi-appointed governor of Saada, Fares Manaa, tried to mediate a ceasefire in which the Houthis would re-open the road and both sides would withdraw to their old positions.

[36] Another ceasefire, crafted by local tribesmen, lasted one week and was broken on 25 November, when Houthis began shelling the Salafi fighters' positions in the town, killing three and wounding two.

[44] On 3 December, the Houthis agreed to ease the blockade by allowing food aid supplied by the Red Cross to enter the area.

Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi responded in a statement saying that "In a step that reveals their malicious intentions, they opened fire on us, killing three people, these unprovoked attacks are unjustified and are aimed at igniting a sectarian war in the country.

A Salafi spokesman claimed that "al-Houthis have taken advantage of the ceasefire and made advances on Al Baraqa mountain" and said that he expected casualties to rise as violence would continue.

[55] In early January 2014, a presidential delegation led by Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and a committee headed by Sanaa mayor Abdulqader Hilal arrived at Saada to work out a peace deal between fighters from both sides.

[55] By 12 January, a ceasefire agreement was finally signed between Houthi rebels and Sunni tribesmen, ending the conflict in Dammaj and most of the northern governorates.

Yemen's Indonesian ambassador, Agus Budiman, said it was difficult for them to evacuate the students because most of them did not want to leave and were armed and "ready for jihad", adding that the government was "worried about their condition".

They were eventually contacted with permission of Sheikh al-Hajoori and the Houthis said they would ensure the safety of their evacuation, although they did not allow embassy staff to enter the compound or take the bodies.

Ammari said that thousands of people were being besieged and deprived of food and medicine, accusing the Houthis of trying to create a Shi'a state in northern Yemen.

[34] On 3 December 2011, in a message posted on jihadist website Shumukh al-Islam, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader Nasir al-Wuhayshi announced they would be deploying fighters to Dammaj to combat the Houthis.

"[58] Nasir al-Wuhayshi was himself an alumnus of one of Dar al-Hadith's offshoots and, according to Said Obaid, chairman of the Al-Jemhi Centre for Researches and Studies, "graduates of these schools are almost ready to be Al-Qaeda members.

"[59] On 12 December, an audio message was posted on jihadist websites by al-Qaeda leader Ibrahim al-Rubaish, which declared jihad against Houthi rebels.