Saudi Arabia and Yemeni government forces have been preparing for a major offensive against Iran-backed Houthis, whose latest advances along Yemen's western coast have tightened their control over coastal areas and disrupted a critical maritime chokepoint known as the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Bloomberg now reports that the operation is underway.
The outlet reports that Rashad Al-Alimi, head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, ordered all branches of the armed forces into active combat operations on Sunday.
"All state military, security and civil institutions as of this moment are mobilized and on high alert until the mission is completed and victory is achieved," Al-Alimi said on Sunday.
He said the operation would continue "until the liberation of the country from the grip of the terrorist Houthi militia."
باسم الله، وباسم الشعب، وبناءً على قرارات مجلس الدفاع الوطني، نعلن اليوم بدء العمليات العسكرية لاستعادة ما تبقى من أراضي الجمهورية، وبسط سلطة الدولة ومؤسساتها على كامل التراب الوطني. pic.twitter.com/yaKsnSDpbK
— د/ رشاد محمد العليمي (@PresidentRashad) October 4, 2026
Our reporting on Saturday indicated that more than 100,000 Yemeni pro-government troops were set to mobilize for the offensive.
