Yemen’s Saudi-backed government has made an announcement of a key military operation to claim back territory from the IHouthis, who are backed by Iran
It comes after an exchange of strikes between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition in recent days. On Sunday, the Houthis said they had struck sites belonging to Saudi national oil company Aramco.
The group said the attack was in response to what it described as 50 Saudi-led coalition air and missile strikes in Yemen in 12 hours. Saudi Arabia has yet to comment.
The conflict escalated in September, when the Houthis seized the country’s entire Red Sea coast, including the vital shipping lane of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, further disrupting global oil supplies.
Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, which has been held by the Houthis for more than a decade, has come under sustained attack as government forces try to weaken the group’s military capabilities.
Attacks on the Houthis have also spread across Yemen, including to the Saada region, the group’s northern heartland.
On Sunday, Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi said in a televised address: “Today, I announce the start of military operations to retake the remaining territory of the republic and extend the authority of the state and its institutions across the entire national territory.”
