Yemen Launches Major Operation to Retake Houthi-Held Territory

Aden (GNP): Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi announced on Sunday the start of major military operations against the Houthis. The campaign aims to retake the remaining territory outside government control and restore state authority across the country.

Al-Alimi described the move as a shift from preparation to action. He said it came after all opportunities for de-escalation had been exhausted.

In an address to the Yemeni people, he said the decision rested on his constitutional responsibility to protect the country’s sovereignty and citizens. He added that it followed National Defence Council decisions and the completion of the necessary military preparations.

He ordered the armed forces, security services and military formations to begin their missions under approved plans. Those plans are aimed at restoring state institutions and ending Houthi control.

Al-Alimi said the government had given peace all the time and opportunities it deserved. The Houthis, he argued, answered with further escalation, including attacks and threats against civilians, national infrastructure, neighbouring countries and international waterways.

For that reason, he said, the government has a national responsibility to confront the group. He stressed that this would continue for as long as weapons remain outside state authority and threaten citizens, sovereignty, regional security and international navigation.

The chairman was careful to say the campaign is not directed against residents of Sanaa, Saada, Hodeidah, Amran, Dhamar or Ibb, nor against any sect or tribe. He described it as the state’s battle for its citizens and the restoration of its institutions.

Addressing people living in Houthi-held areas, he said civilians are not targets of the operations. He named the protection of their security, rights and dignity among the campaign’s principal objectives.

He urged civilians to stay away from military positions, gatherings and Houthi supply routes. He also called on families not to let their children be drawn into the fighting.

The door remains open, Al-Alimi said, for a safe return and the announced amnesty for those who lay down their weapons and stop fighting alongside the Houthis. This applies in accordance with previously announced procedures.

He also directed the armed forces, security services and military formations to comply with the law and protect civilians and property.

Alongside the military effort, Al-Alimi instructed the government to prepare a programme for state institutions to resume their responsibilities in cities, districts and governorates retaken by government forces.

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Priorities include resuming salaries for state employees and addressing outstanding payments retroactively. They also include an urgent recovery and reconstruction programme, repairs to roads, electricity and water networks and damaged facilities, and conditions that allow displaced people to return and economic activity to resume.

He called on regional and international partners to support Yemen, its armed forces and national institutions. He asked for backing for humanitarian, economic, recovery and reconstruction efforts in areas returning to government control.

Yemen’s military, security and civilian institutions will remain on full alert until the mission is completed, he said. The next phase, he added, will combine military operations with the restoration of state institutions, public services and reconstruction.

Al-Alimi said, “There will be no revenge, no retaliation, no attacks on innocent people.”