The Yemeni government has declared a national offensive to retake all land held by the Houthi rebels. President Rashad al‑Alimi addressed the nation via live broadcast from Riyadh on Sunday, announcing the start of military operations aimed at re‑establishing government control over every part of Yemen.
The declaration follows a brief exchange of strikes between the Houthis and the Saudi‑led coalition in the last few days. In retaliation, the Iran‑backed group targeted sites belonging to Saudi Arabian national oil company Aramco, claiming to have hit a dozen locations in a single night. Saudi Arabia has yet to issue a formal response.
Al‑Alimi’s televised speech described the new campaign as a decisive move to extend state authority across the entire national territory. He noted that the capital, Sanaa, has fallen into Houthi hands for more than a decade and that the government is intensifying attacks to weaken the rebels’ military capabilities.
Despite the “all‑out” declaration, security reports suggest the Houthis are still gaining ground. The frontline remains focused on Taiz, which the insurgents claim to have isolated through a cut supply route linking it to Aden, Yemen’s interim capital. Farea Al‑Muslimi of the Chatham House think tank commented that the Houthis have effectively surrounded Taiz even if they have not fully captured it.
The Governor’s announcement is widely interpreted as an endorsement from Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s main backer. Saudi forces have suffered repeated missile and drone attacks on oil facilities, prompting the kingdom to intensify strikes against Houthi targets across Yemen.
Yemen’s ongoing crisis, which began in 2014 when the Houthis captured the capital, has left the country one of the poorest in the world. The latest escalation risks pushing the humanitarian situation further into crisis as fighting spreads across critical supply routes and oil infrastructure.
