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The Saudi-backed government of Yemen on Sunday announced a major military campaign against the Houthi militia, a key Iranian ally, plunging the Middle East even deeper into war.
In a televised speech, Rashad al-Alimi, the leader of the internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government, said that the government was seeking to reclaim all the territory it had lost to the Houthis over the past 12 years.
Much of the government operates from Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
The two sides have been battling since 2014, when the Houthis took over the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, forcing out the government. Saudi Arabia led a bombing campaign to try to restore the government, contributing to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people from violence, hunger and disease. The Houthis eventually created a de facto state in northern Yemen.
A truce in 2022 brought a fragile peace. But the conflict reignited this year, after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February.
The latest cycle of violence began in July, after the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of bombing Sanaa’s airport. The Houthis responded by launching drone and ballistic-missile attacks inside Saudi Arabia, while also declaring a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.
The Houthis and Saudi Arabia, which supports government* financially and militarily, have also attacked each other directly.
It was not immediately clear what role the United States or other Saudi allies might play in the government’s counteroffensive. Britain recently announced that it would provide limited refueling support to Saudi warplanes, while American officials have provided intelligence and targeting support to Saudi Arabia to counter the Houthis in recent months.
* Sic.