Yemeni Government Threatens Retaliation as Houthi Attacks Intensify

The internationally recognised government of Yemen declared on Monday that it will respond to ongoing attacks by the Houthi group, as the intensity of missile and drone strikes on government-held areas increases. These attacks are seen as risking the outbreak of large-scale fighting.

Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), stated that government forces are now better prepared to face the latest escalation and will no longer allow the Houthis to “dictate” the timing and scope of military confrontation, according to the state news agency Saba. Meeting with ambassadors from countries supporting Yemen’s political process in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, al-Alimi said the government had sought to maintain the relative calm established after the 2022 UN-mediated truce.

However, he stressed that the government’s commitment to peace would not be exploited by the Houthis as an opportunity to launch attacks without consequence. “The state did not initiate this escalation, nor does it seek it,” al-Alimi was quoted as saying by Saba. He noted that recent attacks indicate a shift in the military and political situation, asserting that strikes on Marib, Hadramaut, and the western coast will no longer be left “without consequence.”

The statement came after days of intensified Houthi attacks on government forces and infrastructure in the oil-rich provinces of Marib, Hadramaut, and Shabwa, as well as the western coastal city of Mocha. In recent weeks, the Houthis have significantly increased missile and drone strikes against government-controlled areas in Yemen and targets in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, a key backer of the Yemeni government.

The group announced a maritime ban on ships affiliated with Saudi Arabia in July and has since claimed several attacks on Saudi-affiliated oil tankers in the Red Sea and energy facilities within the kingdom. The Houthis claim their attacks on government forces are a response to what they describe as a Saudi-backed military build-up and mobilisation in Yemen. They also cite strikes on Saudi territory as retaliation for an alleged blockade on Houthi-held areas.

Yemen has been embroiled in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized much of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the government. A UN-mediated truce took effect in April 2022 and expired in October of that year without an official extension. However, a fragile de facto ceasefire has largely held since then, despite sporadic clashes along some front lines.