In a conflict that has outlasted ceasefires, coalitions, and countless declarations of turning points, Yemen's Saudi-backed government has announced a sweeping new military offensive against the Houthi movement — an Iran-aligned force that has not only held Sanaa since 2014 but now controls the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world's most consequential shipping corridors. President al-Alimi's televised call to arms comes as diplomatic options have been declared exhausted and as the Houthis press toward Taiz, threatening to encircle a city of hundreds of thousands already hollowed by hunger. T
Yemen's government launches major offensive to retake Houthi-held territory
Tens of thousands displaced by recent fighting surge; three in four families in parts of Yemen going hungry; potential siege of Taiz would affect hundreds of thousands of civilians.
The Houthis have maintained the initiative on the ground
Mark
So the government just announced this offensive—how confident are they that they can actually push the Houthis out of territory they've held for over a decade?
Mimi
That's the question nobody can answer yet. The Houthis have survived every major campaign against them since 2015, including operations by Saudi Arabia and the UAE with Western support. But this moment feels different because the Houthis just made a major territorial grab—the Bab el-Mandeb Strait—which suggests they're on the offensive now, not just defending.
Luke
Right, but we should be careful here. The government made an announcement. That's not the same as a military campaign actually happening or succeeding. We don't have independent confirmation of the scale of their forces, their readiness, or any concrete operational details. The Houthis claimed they hit Saudi Aramco facilities, but Saudi Arabia hasn't confirmed that either.
Mark
What about the humanitarian side? I saw mention of a potential siege of Taiz.
Mimi
If the Houthis cut the road between Taiz and Aden, they'd effectively trap the city. We're talking about hundreds of thousands of civilians in a place that's already struggling with food insecurity. Three out of four families in parts of Yemen are going hungry right now because of the fighting.
Luke
That's a real concern, but it's also worth noting that the World Food Programme's figures are from last week. We don't have current numbers on how many people are actually displaced or how the humanitarian situation has evolved since the Houthis took the strait.
Mark
Why does the U.S. care so much about this? It seems like a regional conflict.
Mimi
The U.S. is already providing intelligence to support Saudi operations. But more broadly, this is tied to the larger American conflict with Iran. The Houthis are backed by Iran, so every Houthi advance is seen as an Iranian advance. That's why some people are calling this a new front in that wider war.
Luke
That framing is important to flag, though. The U.S. describes it that way, but the Houthis have their own history and motivations in Yemen that predate the current Iran conflict. They're not simply Iranian proxies—they're a Zaidi Shi'ite armed group that took power during the Arab Spring and have held territory for over a decade.
Mark
So what happens next? Does the government actually have the capacity to launch this offensive?
Mimi
That's unclear. They've made the announcement, but we don't have details on troop numbers, equipment, or strategy. The Houthis have the initiative right now, and they've shown they can move quickly and capture territory.
Luke
And we should remember that a 2022 ceasefire held for years before collapsing. That suggests there's been some kind of shift in the conflict dynamics, but we don't have a clear explanation for why the truce broke down or what changed.
Il Polso
- The Houthis' sudden seizure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait last month — a waterway linking the Mediterranean to Asia — handed them leverage over international shipping that no militia in the region has held before.
- Yemen's government, backed by Saudi Arabia and Western allies who have failed to dislodge the Houthis across more than a decade of operations, has declared a new total offensive, though the military credibility behind that declaration remains deeply uncertain.
- The Houthis struck back immediately, claiming missile and drone attacks on Saudi Aramco facilities in Riyadh and Khurais, framing the strikes as retaliation for fifty Saudi air and missile attacks in a single twelve-hour window.
- On the ground, Houthi forces are advancing on the last road connecting Taiz to Aden — a move that would effectively besiege Yemen's third-largest city and trap hundreds of thousands of civilians inside a worsening humanitarian catastrophe.
- Three in four families in parts of Yemen are already going hungry, tens of thousands have been newly displaced, and the collapse of the 2022 ceasefire has left no diplomatic architecture standing to absorb the next escalation.
In a conflict that has outlasted ceasefires, coalitions, and countless declarations of turning points, Yemen's Saudi-backed government has announced a sweeping new military offensive against the Houthi movement — an Iran-aligned force that has not only held Sanaa since 2014 but now controls the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world's most consequential shipping corridors. President al-Alimi's televised call to arms comes as diplomatic options have been declared exhausted and as the Houthis press toward Taiz, threatening to encircle a city of hundreds of thousands already hollowed by hunger. This is not merely a civil war entering a new phase — it is a regional and global contest over trade, influence, and survival playing out in one of the world's most devastated nations.
Yemen's government declared a sweeping military campaign this week against the Houthis, the Iran-backed armed group that has controlled the capital Sanaa and much of the northwest since 2014. In a televised address, President Rashad al-Alimi vowed that Saudi-backed forces would press the offensive until the country was freed from what he called the grip of a terrorist militia — a declaration he said came only after all diplomatic paths had been exhausted.
The announcement followed a dramatic shift on the ground. Last month, Houthi forces seized the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — the southern gateway of the Red Sea and one of the world's most critical shipping routes — along with roughly 150 kilometers of coastline in a rapid offensive that caught government forces off guard. The capture gave the Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, unprecedented leverage over international commerce and opened what American officials describe as a new front in the broader U.S.-Iranian confrontation that escalated earlier this year.
Even as the government made its announcement, the Houthis claimed to have launched missiles and drones at Saudi Aramco facilities near Riyadh and Khurais, saying the strikes ignited major fires in retaliation for fifty Saudi-led air and missile strikes in the preceding twelve hours. Saudi Arabia had not confirmed the claims. The United States is providing intelligence support to Saudi operations, while regional and European partners are supplying defensive equipment — deepening Washington's entanglement in a conflict already intertwined with its wider confrontation with Iran.
Yemen descended into civil war after the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011. Saudi Arabia formally entered the conflict in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition, but has failed to dislodge the Houthis despite more than a decade of operations. A ceasefire negotiated in 2022 held until this year, when it collapsed entirely.
The humanitarian stakes are now acute. Houthi forces have made advances near Taiz in the past forty-eight hours, pushing toward the last road connecting the city to Aden. If that road falls, Taiz — Yemen's third-largest city and home to hundreds of thousands of civilians — would be effectively encircled. The World Food Programme reported last week that three in four families in parts of Yemen are going hungry as a result of the recent surge in fighting, with tens of thousands newly displaced and food supplies disrupted for millions more across the country.
Yemen's government announced a sweeping military campaign this week aimed at wresting control of the country from the Houthis, an Iran-backed armed group that has held the capital Sanaa and parts of the northwest since 2014. President Rashad al-Alimi declared in a televised address that his Saudi-backed forces would press the offensive until the nation was freed from what he called the grip of a terrorist militia. A military spokesperson followed with a call for the Houthis to surrender their weapons. The announcement came as the conflict entered a new and volatile phase, with the Houthis having just seized the Bab el-Mandeb Strait—the southern gateway of the Red Sea—and roughly 150 kilometers of coastline in a rapid offensive last month that caught government forces unprepared.
The Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, have survived years of sustained military pressure from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and their Western partners without losing control of their core territory. But their recent capture of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait represents a significant shift in the balance of power. That waterway is one of the world's most critical shipping routes, connecting the Mediterranean to Asia, and Houthi control over it gives the group unprecedented leverage over international commerce. The seizure also opened what American officials describe as a new front in the broader U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, which intensified in February.
As the Yemeni government made its military announcement, the Houthis claimed they had launched missiles and drones at Saudi Aramco facilities in Riyadh and the Khurais region, saying the strikes ignited major fires. They characterized the attacks as retaliation for fifty Saudi-led air and missile strikes that had hit Yemen in the previous twelve hours. Saudi Arabia had not immediately confirmed the Houthi claims. President al-Alimi said the decision to launch the new campaign reflected the exhaustion of all diplomatic options for de-escalation.
The United States is already providing intelligence support to Saudi operations in Yemen, while some regional and European nations are supplying defensive military equipment to the kingdom. Yet the American commitment to the conflict has also deepened Washington's entanglement in Middle Eastern affairs at a moment when the broader U.S. war on Iran has already claimed significant figures in Iranian military and political circles. Yemen itself has been a patchwork of competing armed groups backed by different regional and international powers for years. The country descended into civil war after the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, when the Houthis—a Zaidi Shi'ite Muslim armed group—seized Sanaa. The government has since controlled the southern and eastern portions of the country. Saudi Arabia formally entered the conflict in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition supporting the government, but has failed to dislodge the Houthis despite more than a decade of military operations. A ceasefire negotiated in 2022 held relatively stable until this year, when it collapsed.
The Houthis have maintained momentum on the ground since their lightning seizure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. In the past forty-eight hours, military sources reported that the group has also made advances near Taiz, pushing toward the last road connecting that city to Aden. If the Houthis secure control of the Taiz-Aden road, they would effectively encircle Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, which is home to hundreds of thousands of civilians. The city holds strategic importance beyond its geography; President al-Alimi is from the region, and a siege would intensify an already catastrophic humanitarian emergency. The World Food Programme reported last week that three out of every four families in parts of Yemen are now going hungry as a result of the recent surge in fighting. The escalation has displaced tens of thousands of people and disrupted food supplies reaching millions more across the country.
Citazioni salienti
The military would press the offensive until the country is liberated from the grip of the terrorist militia— President Rashad al-Alimi, in televised address
The decision to launch the military campaign came after all chances of de-escalating the conflict were exhausted— President al-Alimi
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Leggi l'originale su ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation ↗