Yemeni government forces launch Saudi-backed counteroffensive against Houthis

Yemeni President Rashad al Alimi, head of the country’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), announced Operation “Dawn of Yemen,” a counteroffensive against the Houthis, on October 4. Alimi said on his X account that the operation was “launched to restore state institutions, liberate the capital, Sana’a, and end the coup by the terrorist Houthi militias.” Major General Turki al Maliki, the official spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, expressed Saudi support for the operation, specifying that “the Coalition continues to provide full operational support to the Yemeni Armed Forces.” He noted that Saudi Arabia has the right to defend itself in the face of Houthi attacks, including those targeting Mecca and Medina, and “reaffirmed the Kingdom’s continuous stance alongside Yemen and its brotherly people until the state and its institutions are fully restored, the Terrorist Houthi Militia is eliminated, and its threat to the freedom of maritime navigation in the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait is brought to an end.” After launching a major campaign against Yemen’s internationally recognized government on August 6, the Houthis advanced down Yemen’s western Red Sea coast, reaching the southern chokepoint of the Bab al Mandeb Strait and key islands in the waterway by September 11. Since then, the Houthis and forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government have been fighting in the highlands of Taiz, the country’s southwestern governorate, which includes the Bab al Mandeb coast. This mountainous territory lies inland from the Houthis’ recent advance and would be crucial to any attempt to hold Yemen’s southwestern coast. In the days before the Yemeni government’s announcement, the Houthis launched an offensive around Taiz city, which government forces largely held off. Taiz, the capital of the governorate and Yemen’s third-largest city, is a major intersection connecting the Red Sea coast and the road to Aden, the government-held interim capital. On October 4, the Houthis seized Al Turbah, a city south of Taiz on the road to Aden, the only main route connecting Taiz with government-held areas in southern Yemen. The Taiz Axis of the Yemeni Armed Forces said on October 5 that it had launched five offensive operations on fronts in the governorate. It claimed that the Houthis “suffered losses during the day’s operations estimated at approximately 100 killed and 150 wounded,” also noting “downing five drones and destroying or disabling six vehicles and a tank.” On the morning of October 5, Colonel Majid al Nuzaili, the Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman, announced that the Southern Giants Brigades and the National Shield Forces, two anti-Houthi armed groups affiliated with the Yemeni Armed Forces, controlled Bab al Mandab. The Southern Giants Brigade announced that it gained “full control over Dhubab Airport, severing the main supply line linking Mocha and Bab al-Mandab, and imposing a tight siege on the terrorist Houthi militia in the strategic Bab al-Mandab.” Dhubab Airport sits along the coastal road connecting Dhubab with the southernmost point of Bab al Mandeb on the Red Sea coast. On October 5, the Yemeni Armed Forces claimed control of Al Mocha, a major Red Sea port that the Houthis had seized on September 10. However, Yemeni experts, including Mohammad al Basha, say that government-aligned forces do not yet control the city of Mocha. In addition, Yemeni journalist Ali al Sakani reported government troops around Mocha, while fellow Yemeni journalist Taha Saleh reported fighting in the area on October 5. The Saudi-led Coalition supported Yemeni armed forces with 100 fighter jets. Maliki said on October 5 that the coalition had “destroyed 324 high-value targets with the launch of Operation ‘Dawn of Yemen.’” Nuzaili also announced “a strategic offensive operation in Sanaa,” the Houthi-held Yemeni capital in the north, on October 5. The Yemeni Armed Forces media center said the military launched operations across Marib, the key oil-rich governorate in central Yemen which has seen heavy fighting in recent weeks, though not on the same scale as Taiz. The Saudi-led coalition also announced that “the naval forces of the Coalition carried out a military operation in al-Hudaydah Governorate.” The province is north of Taiz along Yemen’s west coast and has been the launching point for much of the Houthis’ terrorism in the Red Sea. Maliki said that this attack “destroyed weapons depots, boat explosive storage facilities, and naval mines.” Houthis continue targeting Saudi Arabia On October 6, the Houthis claimed ballistic missile attacks on Saudi forces in Jizan, a southern province, and Abha International Airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia. On October 5, the Houthis claimed attacks on King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, an Aramco facility on Saudi Arabia’s west coast, and targets in southern provinces. Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesman, said that the attacks were in response to “60 airstrikes and a missile targeting [Yemen’s] capital Sana’a and the provinces of Al-Jawf, Taiz, Hodeidah, Saada, and Marib over the past 24 hours.” He claimed that Riyadh had conducted 1,576 airstrikes and missile attacks against the group “since the escalation began.” Saree did not provide a date, but he is likely referencing mid-July, when tensions began to rise over Riyadh’s airstrike on Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian plane from landing. The Houthis also claimed attacks on an Aramco facility in Riyadh and an Aramco facility in the eastern part of the country on October 4. Riyadh often doesn’t immediately comment on Houthi attacks. However, Saudi Arabia confirmed that two southern airports were damaged on October 5. The New York Times shared a video of smoke at a Riyadh refinery on October 4, though the footage was dated the previous day. Bridget Toomey is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focusing on Iranian proxies, specifically Iraqi militias and the Houthis.