Yemen’s internationally recognized government has announced the start of a major military campaign to retake territory held by the Houthi movement, marking one of the sharpest escalations in the country’s war in years.
Government officials said the operation — described as a “battle of liberation” — aims to restore state institutions and end what they call the Houthi coup. The Saudi-led coalition said it would provide “full operational support” to government forces, according to coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki.
The Houthi movement reported that Saudi Arabia carried out 106 air and missile strikes over the previous 24 hours, targeting the capital Sanaa and provinces including Al-Jawf and Taiz. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the strikes brought the total since the current escalation began to 1,516. Those figures could not be independently verified, and Saudi Arabia has not confirmed the reported strikes.
In retaliation, the Houthis claimed Sunday they had struck two Aramco facilities — one in the Saudi capital Riyadh and another in the Khurais area — causing large fires. There has been no word from Saudi authorities on the claimed strikes.
Much of the recent ground fighting has centered on Taiz province in southwestern Yemen, where the Houthis claimed to have taken a critical highway linking Taiz with Aden, the seat of the internationally recognized government.
The escalation follows weeks of intensifying conflict. Last month the Houthis seized a swath of Yemen’s Red Sea coast as far south as the Bab al-Mandeb strait — a chokepoint for commercial shipping — and announced Saudi shipping through the strait would be targeted.
Zark News last covered Yemen on September 29. This Oct. 4–5 development is a significant escalation in the conflict.
