Yemen's military announced on Monday the commencement of a series of extensive attacks against Houthi targets. This action follows the Yemeni government's announcement to launch a new campaign aimed at reclaiming all lost lands. Meanwhile, the Houthi group, supported by Iran, is achieving new victories on the battlefields.
Targeting Houthi Positions
This military operation has set an ambitious goal for the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, a month after the government lost large parts of the Red Sea coastal strip and surrounding areas of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key point for international shipping. The Houthis, who are at war with the internationally recognized government, launched a rapid attack last September that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of fighters from both sides and displaced over 145,000 people.
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Houthi Advances and Recent Developments
Hours after the government's announcement, a military spokesman for Yemen stated that the country's forces had carried out over 1,000 attacks on Houthi artillery and missile positions, defensive fortifications, reinforcement routes, and supply and logistics lines. However, these attacks have not been able to halt the Houthis' ongoing advances. On Sunday, the Houthis effectively besieged the key city of Taiz and cut off its main supply route connecting the city to the temporary capital of the government, Aden.
Ahmed Nagy, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, said: "This is a significant development, but I think it is still too early to say we are witnessing a definitive turning point." The city of Taiz remains under the control of government forces but has long been besieged from the north, east, and west by the Houthis and is considered one of the main fronts in Yemen's civil war.
The war in Yemen has also involved Saudi Arabia, which has led a military coalition against the Houthis since 2015. In recent weeks, the Houthis have regularly reported attacks on Saudi territory and announced that they have besieged the country's ships in the Red Sea. Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world and has been grappling with a widespread humanitarian crisis since the civil war began in 2014.
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