Yemen: Civil War Gets New Life As Govt Strikes Intensify

Yemen may be returning to full scale civil war.  Al Jazeera reports that government forces have carried out 81 attacks on positions held by the Houthi rebels.

Yemen’s internationally recognised government, now based in Aden, has also accused the Houthis of attempting to impose a blockade on Yemen and halting the country’s oil exports.

Over the past month, fighting has intensified in Yemen, with the government reporting carrying out hundreds of operations against the Houthis, killing many of their fighters.

Exchanges of fire and drone attacks have been reported across nearly the entire frozen front line, but no large-scale offensive operations have yet been reported by either side.

Arab News quoted Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Col. Majed Al-Nazili as saying on  Thursday that government forces had killed a number of Houthi fighters and destroyed military vehicles in attacks on militia positions across several flashpoints.

He said the operations were part of the army’s “deterrence” campaign and came in response to Houthi missile and drone attacks on ports in the Red Sea city of Mokha, as well as residential areas and camps for internally displaced people in Marib.

In a post on X, Col Nazili affirmed the state’s determination to restore its institutions, extend its authority over all Yemeni territory, and end the suffering of the Yemeni people,” the post said.

Al-Nazili’s pledge came a day after Presidential Leadership Council member and National Resistance commander Tareq Saleh vowed to retake Sanaa and other Houthi-held areas in a “decisive” battle.

“We are talking about a battle that, if it begins, will be decisive, God willing. We will restore our dignity and state institutions, and we will retake Sanaa and Hodeidah, and fully restore the state

Any future confrontation between government forces and the Houthis would differ from previous rounds of fighting because of new military tactics and weapons, including drones, which he said had inflicted significant losses on the militia.