Yemen Government Forces Launch Push to Retake Sanaa

Yemeni government forces have launched a multi-front counteroffensive against Houthi rebels, declaring an intention to reclaim the capital city of Sanaa. The military push marks the most significant escalation in fighting since a United Nations-brokered truce halted major combat in 2022.

Heavy ground battles and air strikes were reported across central and northern provinces, including Taiz, al-Bayda, and al-Jawf. Military officials urged civilians to stay off major transport corridors leading toward the capital as clashes intensified.

Ground Battles and Strategic Advances

Government troops, backed by Saudi Arabia, carried out ground operations alongside rocket and drone strikes against Houthi positions. Military commanders reported advancing toward the al-Labanat mountains and launching rocket attacks near Yatma in al-Jawf governorate, a key northern region bordering Saudi Arabia that connects toward Sanaa. Forces also reported advances near the Dhi Na’im district in al-Bayda province.

Majid al-Nuzaili, a military spokesman for government-aligned forces, stated that the campaign aims to “liberate Yemen from the grip” of Houthi control and “restore Sanaa as a capital for all Yemenis.” He warned civilians to avoid several key roads connecting Sanaa with Marib and al-Jawf, specifically citing routes passing through Nihm, Sirwah, Mahliyah, and al-Hazm. Yemen’s deputy defence minister, Major-General Samir Al-Sabri, confirmed on state television that the government had resolved to “retake Sanaa.”

Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, claimed forces had achieved sweeping advances in al-Jawf, al-Bayda, Taiz, and Hodeidah. He stated that military operations would continue “until state institutions are restored” across the country.

Houthi Responses and Cross-Border Claims

Houthi officials contested the government’s reported advances, stating that their forces successfully repelled the offensive near the al-Labanat mountains. Mohammed al-Farah, a member of the Houthi political bureau, claimed on social media that Houthi ballistic missiles targeted government reinforcements in al-Jawf, destroying armored vehicles and inflicting casualties among officers and troops.

Houthi authorities reported that an air strike killed at least seven people at a prison facility in the town of al-Hazm, attributing the strike to Saudi Arabia and stating that the “aggression will not go unpunished.” Simultaneously, Saudi Arabia accused Houthi forces of injuring at least 73 civilians, including women and children, during recent attacks on the kingdom’s southern border regions, promising a firm response to the escalation.

Humanitarian Cost and Civilian Displacement

The renewed violence has caused widespread civilian disruption. The World Health Organization reported on Monday that at least 728 people have been killed or wounded since August 23, with the majority of casualties occurring in Taiz and along Yemen’s western coast. The agency estimated that roughly 21,000 people, representing approximately 3,000 families, have been displaced from Taiz alone since Thursday.

Background

Yemen’s civil conflict began in 2014 when Houthi rebels captured Sanaa, prompting a military intervention by a Saudi-led coalition the following year. A UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022 significantly reduced large-scale combat, but political negotiations stalled amid broader regional turmoil. Fighting reignited in July when government forces struck Sanaa’s airport to block an Iranian aircraft from landing. Hostilities escalated further last week after Houthis initiated an offensive toward western Taiz and Hodeidah, seeking to enforce a blockade on Saudi shipping passing through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea.