Yemen's Army Launches 'Strategic Offensive' on Houthi-Held Sanaa as Fighting Spreads

Yemen's internationally recognised government says its army has begun a "strategic offensive" on Sanaa, the capital the Iran-aligned Houthis have held since 2014, according to Al Jazeera and the government-run Saba news agency.

The announcement on Monday came hours after the army said it had recaptured the Dhubab district and strategic positions around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, west of Taiz governorate. The Houthis denied that claim.

A campaign to retake the north

The push follows an order on Sunday by Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, for government forces to retake all Houthi-held territory.

"We have instructed the armed forces, security forces and all military formations to begin carrying out their assigned tasks under an approved plan until the country is liberated from the Houthis," al-Alimi said.

Military spokesman Majed Abdullah al-Nuzaili said on Monday that 1,747 Houthi fighters had been "neutralised" in 1,122 military operations in the Saada, al-Jawf and Taiz governorates and along the western coast. He said 364 military and logistical vehicles had been destroyed or disabled. Those figures have not been independently verified.

A military source told Al Jazeera that government forces also attacked Houthi positions on the Ragwan front in northern Marib governorate, alongside air strikes on Houthi positions and reinforcements.

Saudi Arabia pledges support

Coalition spokesman Major-General Turki al-Malki said Saudi Arabia and its allies would keep supporting Yemen until state institutions are restored and the Houthi threat to shipping in the southern Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb is ended. He cited Houthi attacks in recent weeks on Riyadh, Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jizan, Najran, Taif and Yanbu.

Yemen's foreign minister, Afrah Al-Zouba, appealed for more international help. "We call upon our brothers, friends and the international community to support the Yemeni people, their state, and their national institutions in confronting the terrorist Houthi militia," she said in a post on X.

Why it matters for the Iran war

Fighting has spread since a 2022 truce collapsed in July, displacing more than 100,000 people, according to Al Jazeera. Last month the Houthis seized about 150km of Red Sea coastline and areas around Bab al-Mandeb, a key shipping route.

Yemeni defence analyst Ibrahim Jalal told Al Jazeera that the Houthis' capabilities "have grown" with support from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He said their role in the war has given the IRGC a way to shift pressure from the Strait of Hormuz to Bab al-Mandeb.

The offensive comes as Iran keeps the Strait of Hormuz closed and Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani officials meet in Riyadh on regional security.