Aden (Yemen), Oct 5 (IANS): Yemeni government forces launched a counteroffensive Monday against Houthi positions overlooking the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait, seeking to reverse the group’s recent gains around one of the world’s busiest maritime chokepoints, said a government military official.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that government forces from the Giants Brigades advanced under air cover into Dhubab district in southwestern Taiz province, where fighting erupted around Houthi positions overlooking approaches to the strait.
“The forces are advancing on several fronts in Dhubab,” the official said, adding that government troops, backed by local tribal fighters, had recaptured several positions and cut a supply route used by the Houthis to reinforce their forces near Bab al-Mandeb, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Several Houthi fighters were also captured during the advance, the official said, without giving a number. “The military operation is continuing, with Saudi-led coalition air cover supporting the ground forces,” he added.
Meanwhile, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, citing a military source within the group, denied the reported government advances toward Dhubab on Monday, dismissing them as “completely false” and accusing Saudi media of seeking to cover up battlefield setbacks.
Monday’s counteroffensive comes a day after Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, announced on Sunday the start of what the government calls the “battle of liberation,” signalling a broader campaign to retake Houthi-held territory after weeks of escalating fighting across the war-torn country.
In a televised address broadcast by Yemen’s state television from Riyadh, Al-Alimi, who is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces, said the government was moving “from the preparation phase to the action phase,” formally launching a broader military campaign after weeks of mobilisation.
The decision followed resolutions by the country’s National Defence Council and came after what he described as the exhaustion of opportunities for de-escalation, he said, accusing the Houthis of using the period of restraint to mobilise more fighters and expand attacks.
