Forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government have launched an offensive to retake the mountainous district of al-Waziiya in Taiz, in a move aimed at regaining control of the Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
The operation, announced on Tuesday, is part of the broader “Dawn of Yemen” campaign declared by Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, to recover territory still held by the Houthis, including the capital, Sanaa.
Yemen’s army media centre said the Homeland Shield Forces, a pro-government faction, had begun a “large-scale operation” in al-Waziiya. It claimed that troops had secured strategic hills overlooking the al-Mansoura area as Houthi fighters retreated.
The Houthis rejected the account, saying their forces had successfully repelled the government advance.
Al-Waziiya offensive and control of Mocha
Al-Waziiya lies west of Taiz and east of Mocha, a Red Sea port seized by the Houthis last month. The district’s mountainous terrain is considered important to any attempt by government forces to retake the port and nearby areas around the Bab al-Mandeb, a key maritime corridor.
The Houthis captured the mountains before taking Mocha in what was described as a lightning offensive last month. Government forces have said their wider campaign is intended to retake all remaining Houthi-held territory.
The fighting coincided with an announcement from the Saudi-led coalition that it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis towards Khamis Mushait in south-western Saudi Arabia.
Coalition spokesman Major-General Turki al-Maliki said missile threats had originated from Houthi-held Sanaa and the governorates of Saada and Amran. He said the coalition would continue targeting missile threats and their launch sites.
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said earlier on Tuesday that attacks had struck King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz airport in Jazan and Najran airport, near the Yemeni border. Three people were injured, with the authority reporting injuries of varying severity and material damage.
The Houthis said on Monday night that they had targeted sites across southern Saudi Arabia, including airports and military facilities.
The Saudi-led coalition has confirmed that it is supporting the Yemeni government offensive, saying 100 of its fighter jets are providing air support. Pakistan and Turkey have also agreed to activate “deterrence measures” under their mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia and to deploy forces rapidly to the Gulf kingdom in response to Houthi attacks.
