Yemen · updated 1h ago · 3 min read
Yemen’s Government Launches Offensive To Retake Taiz Territory From Iran-Backed Houthis
Yemen's Saudi-backed government launches major offensive to recapture all Houthi-held territory. Saudi-led coalition pledges full support for operation to curb Houthi grip.
Houthis’ vs Saudi attacks claims and confirmation.
3 of 4 outlets skipped it: alimi’s Saudi green-light implication.
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Both note lack of confirmation, shaping trust in blame and escalation.
Taiz offensive announced
Yemen’s internationally recognised government announced a major military operation to retake territory held by the Iran-backed Houthis, with Rashad al-Alimi saying, "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." The fighting has centered on Taiz governorate, where Al Jazeera said government forces had conducted dozens of air strikes on Houthi positions while Houthi fighters sought to advance under artillery, tank, mortar and Katyusha rocket fire. The Houthis captured Yemen’s Red Sea coastal regions in early September, including the port city of Mocha and the strategically important Bab al-Mandeb strait, and Al Jazeera reported that the advance raised fears the group could choke off international shipping and cut key supply routes for Taiz.
The renewed fighting has displaced nearly 200,000 people in Yemen since early September, according to Yemen’s Executive Unit for IDP Camps Management, and the closure of major roads into Taiz City has intensified fears of a humanitarian disaster. UNHCR and the World Health Organization warned that the fighting is putting Yemen’s fragile healthcare system in peril, while the UN said nearly half of Yemen’s population of 34 million faces acute food insecurity and about half a million people suffer severe malnutrition.
Competing claims and strikes
Taiz City remains under government control and lies in contested highlands between Houthi-held northern areas and government-held southern areas, with fighting focused on Jabal Han, a mountain west of Taiz City that overlooks a key road. Ibrahim Jalal, a senior researcher and policy adviser, told Al Jazeera that "The Houthi attempt to isolate and constrict the city seeks to secure their coastal Red Sea gains up to Bab al-Mandeb". The Houthis cut a vital supply route linking Taiz with Aden, and Farea Al-Muslimi said, "They've achieved the military objective of isolating Taiz from Aden, even if they haven't fully taken control of it."
The Reuters account carried by Al-Monitor described Rashad al-Alimi’s televised address as a decision to launch a counteroffensive after "all chances of de-escalating the conflict had been exhausted," and it said a military spokesman later called on the Houthis to lay down their weapons. RThe Iran-backed group said it had struck sites belonging to Saudi national oil company Aramco in Riyadh and the Khurais area, in response to what it described as 50 Saudi-led coalition strikes in 12 hours, while Saudi Arabia had yet to comment.
Humanitarian stakes and next moves
The frontline in Yemen remains focused around Taiz, which is still controlled by the internationally recognised government, and the Houthis’ actions have spread attacks across Yemen including to the Saada region. The renewed fighting has already forced tens of thousands of people from their homes, and what happens next could shift the balance of power in Yemen and further exacerbate an already bleak humanitarian crisis. The World Food Program told CNN that "Three out of every four families in parts of Yemen are going hungry because of the surge in fighting," linking the worsening conditions to the escalation around Taiz and other fronts.
The Saudi-led "Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen" pledged full support on Sunday, and CNN quoted coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki saying they will continue providing "full operational support" to Yemeni government forces. Yemen’s government announced it would wage an all out war to reclaim land from the Houthis and Saudi Arabia has been under constant attack as the Houthis try to target the country’s economic lifeblood, oil.