Yemen · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
Houthis Push To Seize Yemen Highlands After Trump Called Off US Strikes
Houthis push to seize strategic Yemen highlands after Trump reportedly called off strikes. Saudi-backed forces defend Red Sea coast as Houthis widen offensive toward Bab al-Mandeb.
Whether US will directly use force to stop the Houthis.
1 of 2 outlets skipped it: turkey says it is ready to assist under the Mecca pact.
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CNN
“the Trump administration is signaling it has little interest in using the American military”Read the original ↗
Al Jazeera
“it doesn’t look like the Pakistanis or the Turks or the Egyptians or the Americans”Read the original ↗
CNN stresses limited US offensive intent; Al Jazeera adds that allies still avoid kinetic involvement.
Houthi gains and Red Sea
Houthi fighters pushed to seize strategic heights in Yemen on Monday to cut off the Red Sea coast from remaining areas held by Saudi-backed forces, after a report that President Donald Trump had called off US strikes on the group at the last minute. The Houthis, who have controlled Yemen's capital since 2014, seized the country's Red Sea coast this month in an advance that routed forces of the Saudi-backed government. Nearly 700 people have been killed and thousands injured in the flare-up in fighting, and nearly 130,000 Yemenis have fled homes within Yemen.
More than 3,000 have fled by boat across the Red Sea to Africa, as fighting centered on the outskirts of the remote mountain Al-Wazi'iyah district in Taiz province and Ras al-Ara between the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the government's base in Aden. Mohammed Al-Qadhi said, "These mountains could become critical to determining whether the Houthis succeed in consolidating their recent territorial gains".
UK offers defensive support
Andy Burnham said the UK will provide "defensive air-to-air refuelling" support for Saudi Arabia in response to attacks the country has faced from the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. The support is likely to begin in the coming days and will involve a single British aircraft, a Voyager, based out of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. Burnham said the decision followed a request from Saudi Arabia for "military support," which he agreed to on the advice of Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.
Government officials described the offer as "time limited" and likely, in the first instance, to last "for weeks". Burnham said, "Because of course Saudi Arabia has been experiencing attacks, is looking at potential further disruption, and we need to keep those pathways open".
Saudi escalation and totals
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced via Telegram that Saudi Arabia targeted the governorates of Al-Jawf, Taiz, Saada, and Ma’rib with 157 airstrikes and missile strikes. Saree said the strikes were carried out by "F-15" and "Typhoon" fighter jets, which took off from the King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait and the King Fahd Air Base in Taif. Saree added that missile attacks were launched from Najran and Jizan.
Saree said the total number of aggression airstrikes and missile strikes since the escalation began to 917. Saree said, "This major aggression will not go unanswered, God willing".