war against the Houthis earlier that year. The siege First phase On 15 October 2011, the Houthis received a leaked letter from Dar al-Hadith's imam Sheikh Yahya al-Hajuri who urged the Central Security Organization commander Yahya Mohamed Abdullah Saleh to fight against the Houthis. At the same time, a 13-year-old Houthi supporter was also physically assaulted in Dammaj by Salafi students. This prompted the Houthis to demand that the Salafis empty their military posts in the city, claiming that the Dammaj school has made attacks against Houthi supporters and is attempting to take control of military positions outside of their area by continue to incite them, describing the Houthis as non-believers and carrying out military training for their supporters, but the Salafis refused. The Houthis responded by besieging Dar al-Hadith on 18 October, by surrounding it with snipers and attacking the Salafi-held Al Baraqa mountain on 30 October. The Salafis claimed the siege does not allow any food or medicine to enter the complex and have called upon Yemen authorities to break the siege. The Houthis claimed they are only blocking weapons from entering the area. In response to the siege, tribesmen loyal to the Salafi group blocked the Al Buqa road connecting Sa'dah to Saudi Arabia and tribesmen from the Al Islah party blocked the Sana'a-Sa'dah road. Houthi-appointed Sa'dah governor Fares Mana'a tried to mediate a ceasefire in which the Houthis would re-open the road and both sides would withdraw to their old positions. The ceasefire however, lasted merely four hours, after which a new round of fighting broke out in which one Salafi fighter was killed. The school and surrounding areas, including 10,000 inhabitants were besieged for over two weeks. Another ceasefire, crafted by local tribesmen which lasted one week, was broken on 25 November, when Houthis started shelling the Salafi fighters' positions in the town, killing three and wounding two. Houthi leader Saleh Habra said the Yemeni government was supplying arms to the Salafis and trying to help them set up a base near the Saudi border, stating the new attack was to cut off their arms supplies. Salafi leader Sheikh Yahya al-Hajuri responded by declaring jihad against the Houthis, which he described as "rejectionists". The Houthis then launched a raid into the town in the pre-dawn hours on 26 November, which lasted until the afternoon of 27 November. According to a Houthi leader Dhaifullah al-Shami, the