Yemeni Government Forces Push to Seize Strategic Mountain District as Offensive Against Houthis Expands

Yemeni government-aligned forces opened a new front in their widening campaign against the Houthis on Tuesday, launching an operation to wrest control of a strategically important mountainous district in the southwestern province of Taiz. The move forms part of a broader effort to roll back the Iran-backed group's recent gains along the Red Sea coast and around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a chokepoint vital to global shipping.

The target of the operation is al-Waziiya district, located west of Taiz city and east of the Red Sea port of Mocha. According to Yemen's army media centre, the Homeland Shield Forces — a pro-government faction — began what it described as a large-scale operation to retake the district. In a statement posted on X, the army media centre claimed government troops had secured strategic hills overlooking the al-Mansoura area, citing a military source, and asserted that Houthi fighters were retreating en masse.

The Houthis rejected that account, maintaining that their forces had successfully repelled the government advance in al-Waziiya. Such duelling claims are common in Yemen's long-running conflict, where control of territory frequently shifts and both sides issue competing narratives about battlefield developments. The competing statements could not be independently verified, leaving the true situation on the ground uncertain.

The timing and location of the offensive underscore al-Waziiya's military significance. The district sits astride the approaches to Mocha, which Houthi forces seized last month in a lightning campaign that also brought them control of areas surrounding the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. That waterway, separating the Arabian Peninsula from the Horn of Africa, is one of the world's busiest maritime corridors, and its disruption has far-reaching consequences for international trade and energy shipments.

Speaking from Sanaa, Al Jazeera's Yousef Mawry explained why the mountainous district matters so much to the broader battle. He noted that the Houthis had taken control of these mountains before capturing Mocha itself, and argued that any serious attempt by the Yemeni government to retake the port city would first require securing al-Waziiya. In effect, the district functions as a gateway: without it, government forces would struggle to threaten Houthi positions along the coast.

The operation is part of the "Dawn of Yemen" offensive announced on Sunday by Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council. Al-Alimi framed the campaign as an effort to retake all remaining Houthi-held territory, including the capital, Sanaa, which the group has controlled since 2014. That ambitious objective signals a significant escalation after years in which the Houthis largely held the initiative on the battlefield.

The fighting in Taiz unfolded alongside renewed cross-border hostilities. The Saudi-led coalition, which backs Yemen's internationally recognised government, said it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis towards the southwestern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait. Major-General Turki al-Maliki, the coalition's spokesperson, said the missile threats originated from Houthi-controlled Sanaa as well as the governorates of Saada and Amran.

Al-Maliki added that the coalition would continue to neutralise the threat posed by ballistic and surface-to-surface missiles and to destroy their launch sites. The interception reflects the persistent danger Houthi missile capabilities pose to Saudi territory, and it illustrates how the Yemen conflict continues to spill across borders more than a decade after the Saudi-led intervention began.

Also on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation confirmed that King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz airport in Jazan and Najran airport, both near the Yemeni border, had been struck in attacks that wounded three people. The authority said the injuries were of varying severity and that the wounded had been taken to hospital, while the strikes also caused material damage. The Houthis said late on Monday that their forces had targeted sites across southern Saudi Arabia, including airports and military installations.

The Saudi-led coalition has confirmed its participation in the government offensive, stating that 100 of its fighter jets are providing air support for operations aimed at retaking all Houthi-held territory. That level of air power suggests the campaign is intended to be more than a limited tactical push, and it raises the prospect of intensified fighting across multiple front lines in the coming weeks.

Regional involvement appears to be widening as well. Pakistan and Turkiye have agreed to activate "deterrence measures" under their mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia, and to rapidly deploy forces to the kingdom to counter Houthi attacks. Their participation adds a new international dimension to a conflict that has already drawn in numerous external actors, deepening concerns that the war could become further entangled with broader regional rivalries.

For Yemen's government, the stakes in the current campaign are considerable. Retaking al-Waziiya would not only reopen a path towards Mocha but also signal that government forces — backed by Saudi air power — can translate their declared ambitions into territorial gains. Failure, by contrast, would leave the Houthis entrenched along a strategically vital stretch of coastline and reinforce their position as the dominant military force in much of the country.

For the Houthis, holding the district preserves their ability to threaten Red Sea shipping and to project power towards Bab al-Mandeb, leverage they have used repeatedly in recent years. Their denial of government claims of success in al-Waziiya is consistent with their broader strategy of presenting themselves as capable of withstanding a multi-front assault, even as they face sustained aerial bombardment and pressure on several axes.

The humanitarian dimension remains acute. Taiz governorate has endured years of siege-like conditions and intense fighting, and a new offensive in its mountainous terrain risks further displacement and civilian suffering. Aid agencies have long warned that Yemen's population — the vast majority of whom depend on humanitarian assistance — bears the heaviest burden when front lines shift, and the renewed fighting is likely to worsen an already dire situation.

With both sides claiming momentum and outside powers committing additional forces and aircraft, the coming days will be critical in determining whether the "Dawn of Yemen" offensive produces lasting territorial change or becomes another chapter of stalemate. What is clear is that the battle for al-Waziiya is about far more than a single mountain district: it is a contest over the approaches to one of the world's most important maritime corridors.