Saudi-Backed Yemeni Forces Retreat From Red Sea in Win for Iran-Backed Houthis

The Southern Armed Forces, the main unit fighting for Yemen’s internationally recognized government in the south, said Sunday it was carrying out a “redeployment operation” from Dhubab Airport and the Bab el-Mandeb area, west of Taiz Governorate.

“This step is taken based on the priority of securing the capital, Aden, and the neighbouring governorates, as well as strengthening the front lines and addressing existing threats,” the force said in a statement reported by Reuters.

Offensive on the Coast Ends

The announcement appeared to close a six-week government counteroffensive aimed at reclaiming the coast near the mouth of the Red Sea, which the Iran-backed Houthis seized in a rapid September advance, Reuters reported.

A Saudi-backed push last month rapidly retook key positions around the strait, notably Dhubab, but failed to drive the Houthis entirely from the area or recapture al-Mocha farther up the coast. Clash Report previously reported the government’s claimed recovery of Bab el-Mandeb.

Yemeni military sources told Reuters that troops had repositioned at al-Suqyah, just south of Dhubab and about 150 kilometers (95 miles) west of Aden, and were still trying to push the Houthis from nearby coastal areas.

Presidency Calls It Calculated

A source in the Yemeni presidency told Asharq Al-Awsat that the move was a “calculated military move” to protect Aden, reinforce fronts in Lahj and create conditions to lift the siege of Taiz.

Jaber Mohammed, a media adviser to the presidency, said the redeployment should not be interpreted as a withdrawal in the military sense, and that forces remained in the operational area around al-Suqyah.

Reuters said there was no immediate response from the Houthis or from Saudi Arabia, the government’s main international ally. No immediate UAE comment was reported.

Houthi Pressure Builds Toward Aden

The Houthis’ gains around Taiz, now the fiercest front of the war, undermined the government campaign around Bab el-Mandeb, the military sources told Reuters. The group was positioned just outside Tur al-Bahah in Lahj governorate, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Aden.

Separately, four military sources in government forces and two government officials told AFP that the Houthis had seized the Al-Maqatirah and Al-Madaribah districts and were positioned at the Al-Kharaz camp, about 60 kilometers from Aden.

Military officials told AFP on Friday that government forces had begun erecting sandbag defenses and digging tunnels around Aden. The Houthis have already surrounded Taiz and earlier this year seized Mokha in a coastal offensive that first brought them to the approaches of the strait.

Yemen’s civil war, dormant since 2022, reignited this summer as a spillover from the wider Iran conflict, Reuters reported. Government forces have been based in Aden since 2015, after the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa.