Saudi-Backed Yemen Forces Begin Operation to Retake Houthi Areas

Yemen’s internationally-recognized government launched a full-scale military bid to recapture all areas under the control of the Houthis following weeks of escalation between the Iran-backed group and Saudi Arabia.

All branches of Yemen’s army were told to begin operations and fight “until the liberation of the country from the grip of the terrorist Houthi militia,” the head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, said Sunday in a public address.

A Saudi-led coalition that includes Yemeni forces has been locked in ground and air battles with the Houthis since early September, when a fresh offensive by the group saw them capture strategic areas on Yemen’s western coast.

The move bolstered the militia’s control over the Bab el-Mandeb, a narrow chokepoint between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden that Saudi Arabia had been using to export oil and bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthis, who’d mostly sat out the US-Israeli war on Iran that began in late February, in July announced a blockade on Saudi ships in response to what they called a “siege” on Yemen. They’ve repeatedly struck the kingdom since then, including targeting its oil facilities, posing further challenges for the world’s largest crude exporter.

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Saudi Arabia has been planning an offensive against the Houthis that would be led by Yemeni ground forces and supported by Saudi air power, Reuters reported on Friday.

“All state military, security and civil institutions as of this moment are mobilized and on high alert until the mission is completed and victory is achieved,” Al-Alimi said on Sunday.

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