Yemen's Saudi-backed government launched a military operation on Sunday to retake territory held by the Iran-backed Houthis, reigniting the country's civil war. The move comes as the Houthis press an advance toward Taiz and tighten their grip on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a chokepoint that has grown more critical to global shipping since the Strait of Hormuz was largely closed by the Iran conflict.
President Rashad al-Alimi announced the start of the campaign in a televised address on Sunday. According to Reuters, he said: "I announce the start of military operations to retake the remaining territory of the republic", pledging to extend state authority across Yemen. Regional and western officials told Reuters that Saudi Arabia and its Yemeni allies were planning the assault, with Saudi forces leading the air campaign while Yemeni troops fight on the ground.
Houthis advance on Taiz
Despite the government's offensive, the Houthis have kept the initiative on the ground. In the past 48 hours they have gained ground on strategic hilltops near Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, and are advancing on the last road linking it to Aden, the government's base.
Houthi control of that road would place Taiz under siege, a city where hundreds of thousands of civilians live alongside thousands of government troops. Al-Alimi hails from the region, and a siege would deepen an already severe humanitarian crisis.
Red Sea shipping back at risk
The renewed fighting follows the Houthis' seizure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait weeks earlier, when government forces collapsed during an offensive down the coast. The strait is the southern gateway to the Red Sea and a key route between the Mediterranean and Asia, and it has taken on added weight this year as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, which the Iran conflict has largely closed off. As a result, the fighting has heightened risks to Red Sea shipping and further disrupted Middle Eastern energy exports already squeezed by the Hormuz closure.
A truce broken by a wider war
Saudi Arabia entered Yemen's civil war in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition backing the internationally recognized government after the Houthis drove it from the capital Sanaa. A 2022 truce had largely held until this year, when the Houthis launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi shipping and oil infrastructure in a spillover from the war against their ally Iran. The Houthis deny being an Iranian proxy, though the United States says Iran has armed, funded and trained them as part of Tehran's regional "Axis of Resistance." Years of tanker attacks have already forced cargo ships to reroute around Africa rather than risk the Red Sea, adding to the squeeze on crude oil and other energy exports out of the Gulf after the Strait of Hormuz closure.
Sources: Investing.com, Investing.com
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