The Yemen’s Houthis have kidnapped 15 musicians, sound engineers, and wedding hall owners during Eid Al-Adha celebrations in the Amran province in northern Yemen, while also confiscating their sound equipment and musical instruments - as reported by “Al-Araby Al-Jadeed”.

The aim of this wave of abductions is to prevent music at weddings and replace it with Houthi chants, which is part of a larger and ongoing efforts by Houthis to ban music at weddings and other celebrations.

Earlier in May, another wave of arrests took place. At the moment, 20 artists, singers, sound engineers, and wedding hall owners remain in Houthi detention centers. The Houthis have refused to release them unless they sign written commitments to ban music at weddings and replace it with the group's chants.

The Houthis also canceled a mass wedding for 160 brides and grooms in the city of Hababah in Amran province earlier in May because a singer was performing at the event.

In November 2018, Houthis killed groom Amer Al-Hatabi on his wedding night in front of his father after arresting him and several of his relatives in Hamdan district, Sana’a.

The Houthis now impose what they call "Zawamil" – traditional war chants used by Yemeni tribes, replacing other forms of music and songs.