ADEN — The army of Yemen’s internationally recognized government has said it began a “strategic offensive” on the Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, to recapture it from the Iran-aligned rebels.Earlier, the army said it recaptured the Dhubab district and strategic locations surrounding the Bab al-Mandeb strait, west of Taiz governorate, according to the government-run Saba news agency.“Forces from the Homeland Shield Forces and the Giants Brigades carried out a large-scale military operation with air cover targeting Houthi militia positions and movements in several areas of the district,” Saba said on Monday.“During the operation, they advanced and seized important positions – cutting off supply lines and roads leading to Bab al-Mandeb,” an unnamed army source told Saba.“Our armed forces have begun carrying out a strategic offensive operation on Sanaa,” Brigadier-General Majid al-Nuzaili, the official military spokesman for Yemeni government forces, said in a post on X.“We are using modern capabilities in the strategic offensive operation,” he said.In an earlier post, al-Nuzaili said the Yemeni army “succeeded in controlling” the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and recaptured a nearby airport in the coastal town of Dhubab in the governorate of Taiz.Al-Nazili said Houthi fighters have fled areas along the Red Sea coast after ground troops engaged them supported by air cover.“Dhubab Airport is under the control of government forces. The forces cut off the road between Dhubab and Mocha and tightened fire control over it,” said al-Nazili his post.“Hundreds of besieged Houthi elements in the Dhubab area must surrender themselves to the government forces. Some Houthi militia fled by boats across the sea after being besieged,” he added.The Houthis, an armed group officially known as Ansar Allah, lost many fighters and several others were wounded in the clashes, with military equipment destroyed or damaged, according to the source.Government forces are “continuing to comb and secure the liberated areas and cut off supply routes to the Houthi terrorist militia”, Saba reported.Shortly after the announcement, the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition an air campaign was under way against the Houthis.Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki said 100 fighter jets were providing support to the Yemeni forces.Yemen has been at war since the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014, forcing the government to retreat to Aden.The war escalated after a fragile truce struck between the government and the Houthis in 2022 collapsed in July.In mid-September, the Houthis swept across parts of western Yemen, seizing the port city of Mocha and key strategic islands in the Bab al-Mandeb strait.Since then, anti-Houthi forces have largely stabilised the front lines. On Sunday, Rashad al-Alimi, the chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, the executive body of the internationally recognised government, announced the start of military operations to retake the remaining territory held by the Houthis.ADEN — The army of Yemen’s internationally recognized government has said it began a “strategic offensive” on the Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, to recapture it from the Iran-aligned rebels.Earlier, the army said it recaptured the Dhubab district and strategic locations surrounding the Bab al-Mandeb strait, west of Taiz governorate, according to the government-run Saba news agency.“Forces from the Homeland Shield Forces and the Giants Brigades carried out a large-scale military operation with air cover targeting Houthi militia positions and movements in several areas of the district,” Saba said on Monday.“During the operation, they advanced and seized important positions – cutting off supply lines and roads leading to Bab al-Mandeb,” an unnamed army source told Saba.“Our armed forces have begun carrying out a strategic offensive operation on Sanaa,” Brigadier-General Majid al-Nuzaili, the official military spokesman for Yemeni government forces, said in a post on X.“We are using modern capabilities in the strategic offensive operation,” he said.In an earlier post, al-Nuzaili said the Yemeni army “succeeded in controlling” the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and recaptured a nearby airport in the coastal town of Dhubab in the governorate of Taiz.Al-Nazili said Houthi fighters have fled areas along the Red Sea coast after ground troops engaged them supported by air cover.“Dhubab Airport is under the control of government forces. The forces cut off the road between Dhubab and Mocha and tightened fire control over it,” said al-Nazili his post.“Hundreds of besieged Houthi elements in the Dhubab area must surrender themselves to the government forces. Some Houthi militia fled by boats across the sea after being besieged,” he added.The Houthis, an armed group officially known as Ansar Allah, lost many fighters and several others were wounded in the clashes, with military equipment destroyed or damaged, according to the source.Government forces are “continuing to comb and secure the liberated areas and cut off supply routes to the Houthi terrorist militia”, Saba reported.Shortly after the announcement, the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition an air campaign was under way against the Houthis.Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki said 100 fighter jets were providing support to the Yemeni forces.Yemen has been at war since the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014, forcing the government to retreat to Aden.The war escalated after a fragile truce struck between the government and the Houthis in 2022 collapsed in July.In mid-September, the Houthis swept across parts of western Yemen, seizing the port city of Mocha and key strategic islands in the Bab al-Mandeb strait.Since then, anti-Houthi forces have largely stabilised the front lines. On Sunday, Rashad al-Alimi, the chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, the executive body of the internationally recognised government, announced the start of military operations to retake the remaining territory held by the Houthis.
Yemen’s army announces operation to retake Sanaa
