Yemeni government forces launch counteroffensive against Houthis
Forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognized government have launched counterattacks against Houthi rebels, with officials saying their goal is to retake the capital, Sanaa, from the Iran-backed group.
Fighting intensified on Monday in the provinces of Taiz, al-Bayda and al-Jawf, which is considered a key gateway to the capital. Government forces, backed by Saudi Arabia, said they conducted rocket and drone strikes against Houthi positions and reported “intensive battles” involving ground troops, Al Jazeera reported.
The Houthis said they had repelled an offensive in al-Jawf and claimed that at least seven people were killed in an airstrike on a prison in the town of al-Hazm. They blamed Riyadh for the attack and warned that the “aggression will not go unpunished.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia accused the Houthis of injuring at least 73 civilians, including women and children, in recent attacks on the kingdom’s southern provinces.
Riyadh also pledged to respond to what it described as a “dangerous escalation.”
Amid the intensifying tensions, Yemen’s deputy defence minister, Major-General Samir Al-Sabri, said in remarks broadcast on state television that the government has decided to “retake Sanaa”.
Majid al-Nuzaili, a spokesman for Yemen’s government-aligned forces, said the objective of the campaign was to “liberate Yemen from the grip” of the Houthis “and restore Sanaa as a capital for all Yemenis”.
He also warned civilians to avoid several major roads leading into Sanaa, saying the alert applies to routes connecting the capital with Marib and al-Jawf, including roads through Nihm, Sirwah, Mahliyah and al-Hazm.