The leader of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government announced the beginning of a major military operation against the Iran-backed Houthis on Sunday, aimed at seizing the territory under their control.
“Today, I announce the start of military operations to retake the remaining territory of the republic and extend the authority of the state and its institutions across the entire national territory,” Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi said in a televised address, according to Reuters.
Regional and western officials had told Reuters earlier that Saudi Arabia and its Yemeni allies were planning to launch an assault on the Houthis, with the Saudis leading aerial combat and Yemeni forces fighting on the ground.
End of the truce
Saudi Arabia entered neighbouring Yemen’s civil war in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition in support of the internationally recognised government, which the Houthis had driven out of the capital Sanaa. A truce agreed between the warring parties in 2022 largely held until this year, when the Houthis launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi shipping and oil infrastructure in a spillover from the wider Iran war.
Despite the preparations for a counteroffensive, the Houthis have maintained the initiative on the ground, weeks after seizing the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait in a lightning offensive down the coast that saw government forces collapse. Bab el-Mandeb is the southern exit of the Red Sea, a key shipping route between the Mediterranean and Asia that has assumed even greater importance this year as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.
Al-Alimi said the decision came after all opportunities for de-escalation had been exhausted, accusing the Houthis of responding to calming efforts with further mobilisation and escalation.
According to the Saudi Gazette, Al-Alimi described the move as a shift “from preparation to action”, saying the decision was taken under his constitutional responsibility to protect the country’s sovereignty and citizens, following National Defence Council decisions and the completion of military preparations.
He stressed that the campaign was not directed against residents of Sanaa, Saada, Hodeidah, Amran, Dhamar or Ibb, nor against any sect or tribe, but against weapons outside state authority that he said threatened citizens, Yemen’s sovereignty, regional security and international navigation.
