The Saudi-led military coalition announced on Monday its participation in the new Yemen government offensive targeting the Iran-backed Houthis, with 100 warplanes used in dawn strikes to provide air cover for ground forces.
“100 fighter jets participated at dawn today in Operation ‘Dawn of Yemen’,” coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki wrote on X, using the name for the new offensive announced on Sunday. “Round-the-clock air support for the Yemeni armed forces on the ground.”
The coalition’s announcement came after the Yemeni military said it launched a broad set of strikes against Houthi targets on Monday, after the country’s internationally recognised government declared a new campaign to retake all territory.
The Iran-backed Houthis have made fresh gains in recent weeks, capturing swathes of the country’s Red Sea coastline and territory around the Bab al-Mandab Strait — a key chokepoint for international shipping.
At war against the government, the Houthis launched a lightning offensive in September that has killed hundreds of combatants on both sides and, according to UN figures, forced more than 145,000 people to flee their homes.
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.
According to Arab News, Yemeni government forces took control of Thubab near Bab al-Mandab in a flanking manoeuvre from Kahbub Mountains on Monday.
Yemen’s President Rashad Al Alimi declared a large-scale operation called “Dawn of Yemen” to target Houthi capabilities. The President of the Leadership Council said the operation is to restore state institutions, liberate Sana’a, and end the coup.
“With the will of our people, the bravery of our forces, and the support of our brothers, Yemen will move toward a new dawn” vowed Al-Alimi on Monday.
The Yemeni Armed Forces launched new strikes against areas under Houthi control, said spokesperson for Yemeni Armed Forces Maj. Gen. Majed Abdullah Al-Nuzaili in a post on X.
The step follows the political leadership’s directives, he said, after the Yemeni Armed Forces announced the start of the battle for liberation to seize state institutions from Houthi control and put an end to the group’s coup.
“Our armed forces continue their military operations across various combat axes and fronts according to approved plans. Our armed forces executed 1,122 targets on Houthi militia infastructure across the Saada, Al-Jawf and Taiz,” said Al-Nuzaili.
“According to field reports, these operations resulted in neutralizing 1,747 militia elements and destroying or disabling 364 military vehicles, equipment, and supply transport units,” he said.
Houthi militias have been surrounded in Bab al Mandab and on Mayun island, as government forces continue to advance northward along the western coast and towards the city of Mokha according to Al Arabiya.
On Sunday, Al-Alimi announced the launch of military operations to recapture the country’s remaining territories under Houthi control.
“Today we are embarking on a decisive phase in the history of our nation,” Al-Alimi said, adding that the state had made “great sacrifices” in choosing the path of peace.
Al-Alimi said the operations were aimed at restoring security, rights and dignity to citizens in areas controlled by the Houthis, stressing that those citizens were not targets of the military operations.
