Yemeni and Saudi Forces Launch Major Offensive Against Houthis
Yemeni government forces backed by Saudi air power launched a major counteroffensive on Sunday to push Houthi militants back from the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and retake lost territory, as Washington weighs kinetic involvement.
Yemeni government forces backed by the Saudi military officially launched a coordinated counteroffensive on Sunday aimed at breaking the Houthi movement's grip on vital southwestern coastal regions and reclaiming territory across northern Yemen. Announced by Rashad al-Alimi, Chairman of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), the military operation follows weeks of operational planning in Riyadh and Aden to counter recent Houthi advances that placed strategic maritime shipping corridors under rebel fire control. Declaring the start of the campaign in a televised address, al-Alimi framed the offensive as a necessary response to persistent rebel aggression. "We have exhausted all opportunities for de-escalation with the Houthi militias," al-Alimi stated, formally signaling the end of diplomatic efforts to negotiate mutual withdrawals from recently captured coastal territories.