Yemen’s leader announced on Sunday the start of a new military operation to retake all territory held by the Houthis, even as the group made fresh gains on the ground, effectively encircling a government-held city.
asserted
group → announce → city
The announcement sets an ambitious goal for the embattled government, which recently lost swathes of the country’s Red Sea coastline and areas around the Bab al-Mandab strait — a chokepoint for international shipping — after a lightning offensive by Houthis.
asserted
which → set → Houthis
Yemen’s government has struggled to roll back the surge, even with the military support of Saudi Arabia, where the Houthis said they had attacked oil infrastructure in the capital yet again on Sunday.
asserted
they → struggle → Sunday
“I announce today the start of military operations to retake the remaining territories of the republic and extend the authority of the state and its institutions across the entire national territory,” Rashad al-Alimi, the head of Yemen’s presidential council, said in a statement.
asserted
Alimi → announce → statement
Alimi called on all the armed forces “to begin carrying out their assigned missions, in accordance with the approved plans, until the country is liberated from the grip of the Houthi terrorist militia”.
asserted
country → call → militia
The statement came just hours after the Houthis cut a vital supply route linking the besieged city of Taiz with the government’s interim capital Aden, according to four security sources.
uncertain
Houthis → come → sources
The Houthi advance followed days of heavy fighting in and around Taiz, where dozens of combatants were reported killed on Friday.
asserted
dozens → follow → Friday
The battle for Taiz is taking place on several fronts, including highlands overlooking coastal areas recently seized by the Houthis.
asserted
battle → take → Houthis
“We were informed that the Houthis had taken control of the al-Safiya area, where they cut the main road and took control of the police station,” a police source in the area told AFP.
asserted
source → inform → AFP
Three sources with the Yemeni military also confirmed Houthi control over the area and the supply route, with traffic along the road halted and the group now surrounding Taiz city.
asserted
group → confirm → city
The military sources added that fighting in the area was ongoing.
asserted
fighting → add → area
Sources from both sides told AFP on Sunday that fighting in and around the western province of Taiz has killed more than 70 people over the past day.
asserted
fighting → tell → day
Sources from the internationally recognised government reported that 34 government troops were killed — 20 on the edge of Taiz province in neighbouring Lahj — while Houthi military sources said 39 of their fighters were killed in fighting across Taiz and in border areas with Lahj.
asserted
39 → recognise → Lahj
Taiz city itself remains under the control of government forces but has long been besieged from the north, east and west by Houthi fighters and remains one of the main fronts in Yemen’s long-running civil war.
asserted
city → remain → war
“They’ve achieved the military objective of isolating Taiz from Aden, even if they haven’t fully taken control of it,” Farea Al-Muslimi, research fellow at the Chatham House think-tank, told AFP.
asserted
Muslimi → achieve → AFP
Muslimi also downplayed expectations over what the coming government offensive might accomplish.
uncertain
offensive → downplay → what
“In my opinion, it’s meaningless,” he added.
asserted
he → ’ → opinion
But Taiz residents vowed to resist any Houthi advance.
“We will defeat and crush anyone who enters the city of Taiz.
asserted
who → vow → Taiz
We will not abandon Taiz,” resident Zakaria Al-Dhubhani said.
asserted
Dhubhani → abandon → Taiz
“This is a message to the Houthis: I swear to God, we will not allow you to advance a single inch into the city.
asserted
you → swear → city
Following several years of relative calm, Yemen’s civil war reignited in July against the backdrop of the wider conflict in the Middle East.
asserted
war → follow → East
It has also drawn in Saudi Arabia — leader of an anti-Houthi military coalition since 2015 — with the group regularly claiming attacks on the kingdom’s territory in recent weeks and declaring a blockade of its ships in the Red Sea.
asserted
group → draw → Sea
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree on Sunday said the group launched ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi energy giant Aramco’s sites in Riyadh and in the oil-rich Khurais area in the east.
asserted
group → say → east
“The strikes were precise, causing large fires at the targeted sites,” Saree said on X.
Saudi oil exports were already under pressure thanks to Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.
asserted
exports → cause → Gulf
The Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV channel reported Saudi strikes on Sunday in the northern governorates of al-Jawf and Saada, saying at least two people had been wounded.
asserted
people → report → al
They came a day after Yemen’s government said its forces struck Houthi targets around the country, including in the capital Sanaa, the northwestern governorate of Saada and the group’s positions near Taiz in the southwest.
asserted
forces → come → southwest
The Yemeni government’s air capabilities, however, are limited, and the Saudi-led coalition has long been the primary force carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis.
asserted
coalition → lead → Houthis
Experts believe the recent operations have most likely been conducted by Saudi warplanes as well.
asserted
operations → believe → warplanes
Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world and remains gripped by a vast humanitarian crisis that has unspooled since the civil war broke out in 2014.
asserted
war → grip → 2014
That year the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa from the Saudi-led government, before going on to take control of much of the country’s north, with Riyadh’s international coalition intervening the following year.
Hunger warning
Hostilities between the Houthis and Yemen’s government had reignited after four years of a fragile truce when Iran sent a plane to Sanaa carrying a Houthi delegation.
asserted
Iran → seize → delegation
The flight did not seek authorisation from Saudi Arabia, contravening a practice in place for a decade.
asserted
flight → seek → decade
Riyadh retaliated with strikes on Sanaa airport, and in response the Houthis attacked Saudi territory for the first time since 2022.
asserted
Houthis → retaliate → 2022
Since then, fighting has intensified with the Houthis launching a lightning offensive in which they seized control of coastal regions along the Bab al-Mandab strait.
asserted
they → intensify → strait
They have also struck multiple Saudi targets including oil infrastructure and the capital Riyadh while also announcing a naval blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.
asserted
They → strike → Sea
The renewed fighting has worsened a humanitarian crisis sweeping Yemen, with the World Food Programme warning on Friday that three-quarters of the population was unable to meet its basic food needs.
asserted
quarters → renew → needs
The Aporia
