Yemen Launches New Offensive to Reclaim Territory from Iran‑Backed Houthis
A statement from Yemen's President Rashad al‑Alimi on Sunday announced the start of a major military operation intended to reclaim lands seized by the Houthi movement over the past decade.
Image: Soldiers ride in the back of a pick‑up truck on a dirt road near Taiz, amid fighting between Yemeni government forces and Houthis.
The move comes after a blunted exchange of strikes that saw the Houthis claim attacks on Saudi Aramco sites in Riyadh and the Khurais oil fields—operations the group described as “precise” and “successful.” Saudi Arabia has not yet commented on the claims, but the potential threat to its oil infrastructure underscores the stakes for the coalition‑led intervention.
Saudi‐backed forces have intensified operations, striking Houthi positions across the country, including in the capital Sanaa, the Saada region and near Taiz. The ongoing bombardments are part of a broader strategy to weaken Houthi control along the Red Sea coast, which had already seen the group extend its influence to the Bab al‑Mandab Strait in September.
According to Houthi sources, the movement has succeeded in cutting a vital supply route linking Taiz with Aden, isolating the city from the recognised government’s interim capital and putting additional pressure on the coalition’s logistics.
The conflict, which originated when the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014 and subsequently took western Yemen, erupted into a full‑scale war when Saudi Arabia intervened in 2015. Despite periods of relative calm, the war reignited in mid‑2024 amid wider regional tensions, and the newly announced offensive marks a potential escalation that could impact global oil markets and regional security dynamics.
Yemen remains among the world’s poorest nations, and the ongoing clashes continue to fuel a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale. As the government seeks to restore control, international observers urge restraint and a diplomatic pathway to deescalate the fighting and protect civilians on all sides.
