The campaign against the Houthis is expanding: The Saudi-led coalition carried out a major operation Monday evening in the Hodeidah area of western Yemen, striking infrastructure belonging to the Iranian-backed rebels’ naval apparatus. At the same time, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan announced they would move quickly to deploy military forces and capabilities on Saudi territory.
2+According to the coalition’s statement, the strikes in the Hodeidah area destroyed weapons depots and facilities used to store explosive boats and naval mines. Riyadh said the operation was designed to degrade the Houthis’ ability to threaten shipping and to protect the strategic shipping lane through the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The move comes amid an intensifying offensive against the Houthis in Yemen. As reported, Yemeni government forces launched a major operation backed by Saudi support, advancing in the Bab al-Mandab area and along the western coast. The coalition announced that 100 fighter jets are participating in the campaign and that hundreds of Houthi targets have been struck.
Parallel to the escalation in Yemen, an emergency meeting of the security committee of the “Mecca Alliance”—which includes Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey—was held in Riyadh. At the conclusion of the talks, the three countries announced they had decided to immediately begin practical implementation of their mutual defense commitments and to take steps for rapid deployment to Saudi Arabia of the military forces and capabilities previously agreed upon.
2+The decision came against the backdrop of Houthi threats and attacks against Saudi Arabia. The three nations also condemned attempts to target Mecca and Medina and attacks on civilian and economic cities and infrastructure in the kingdom. The statement emphasized that the security of each of the three countries is part of the alliance’s shared security.
2+The developments come as Yemeni government forces, aided by heavy Saudi airstrikes, are trying to push the Houthis out of strategic areas in southwestern Yemen and around Bab al-Mandab. According to Reuters, the Riyadh-backed forces made progress today along the coast, while fighting continues in the Taiz area as well.