Eurasia Press & News
Yemeni government forces announced the control of “Bab al-Mandab” and the airport “Dhu Bab” in western Taiz province, after carrying out a military detour operation on the positions of the “Ansar Allah” (Houthi) group supported by Iran.
The Yemeni government’s Saba news agency reported today, Monday, October 5, quoting the official spokesman for the Yemeni forces, Majid al-Nazeeli, that the “Giant Forces” and the “Shield of the Homeland” were able to control the “Bab al-Mandab.”
Al-Nazeeli pointed out that the Yemeni army cut the road linking “Dhu Bab” and “Al-Mokha” and tightened fire control over it, adding that hundreds of fighters from the “Houthi” group were trapped in the “Dhu Bab” area, calling on them to surrender themselves to government forces.
He pointed out that some elements of the Houthis managed to escape across the sea on boats, pointing out that the Yemeni forces began today to carry out the operation “Dawn of Yemen” on a large scale to target the capabilities and elements of the “Houthis”.
For its part, Reuters quoted two Yemeni military sources as saying that the government forces attacked the positions of the Houthis in the area of “Dhu Bab” overlooking the strategic Strait of Bab al-Mandab, a day after the internationally recognized government launched a campaign to restore the territory controlled by the Houthis.
The “Giant Brigades” loyal to the government said that its first units arrived in the “Bab al-Mandab” area.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen announced its participation in the attack launched by the Yemeni government against the Houthis, through air strikes involving a hundred fighter jets that destroyed hundreds of targets.
The spokesman for the military coalition, Turki al-Maliki, said that the coalition provides air protection for the Strait of Bab al-Mandab, and dealing with moving targets continues, adding that 100 fighter jets participated in Operation Dawn of Yemen, and destroyed 324 targets with the launch of the operation.
For its part, the agency “Saba” of the “Houthi” denied any progress of the Yemeni government forces, pointing out that what is promoted by what it called “the media of the Saudi enemy”, about making any progress towards the area of “Dhu Bab”, “unhealthy news and an attempt to cover up their failures and repeated defeats,” as she put it.
The latest developments came after the Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Command Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, announced on Sunday, October 4, the start of military operations to restore the rest of the territory of Yemen, and the extension of the authority of the state and its institutions throughout the national territory, and the transition from the stage of preparation and preparation to the stage of liberation, directing the armed forces, security and all military formations to carry out their tasks in accordance with the approved plans.
After the Houthis
The Iranian-backed Houthi group Ansar Allah has completed its control of the Bab al-Mandab area and the western coast of Yemen on the Red Sea.
On September 12, an Yemeni government official told AFP that the Houthis had completed their control over the Bab al-Mandab area and the island of Myun in the middle of the strait.
The source added that the Iranian-backed group also took control of the “Greater and Lesser Hanish”, the last two islands in the vicinity of the Bab al-Mandab area were in the hands of government forces.
He explained that everything that was in the hands of government forces on the west coast fell, referring to the control of the Houthis on the entire western coast of Yemen on the Red Sea.
Witnesses also told the agency that the “Houthi” gunmen are now deployed in the beach of Bab al-Mandab and have military vehicles touring them.
Beginning of escalation
The last wave of fighting began after the Houthis launched a large-scale attack on the fronts of the west coast of the Red Sea and in the vicinity of the city of Taiz, coinciding with the bombing of missiles and drones, in an attempt to advance towards areas adjacent to the “Bab al-Mandab” Strait under the control of the government of the internationally recognized Yemeni government, supported by Saudi Arabia, which led to an escalation in confrontations.
In July, Yemen returned to the forefront of regional escalation, with the renewed confrontation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia on the impact of the war between the United States and Iran.
These confrontations began after the Houthis accused Riyadh of bombing Sanaa airport to prevent the landing of an Iranian plane in it, before they announced the imposition of a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia and resumed targeting its tankers and oil facilities, ending the truce with the Yemeni government supported by Saudi Arabia.
The split in Yemen began in 2014 when the Houthi group Ansar Allah took control of the capital Sanaa, escalating tensions and the intervention of a Saudi-led military coalition to support Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
This division has deepened over the years, bringing the military and political scene now to a clear map of influence and prominent field developments.
The Houthis control northern and western Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, the governorates of Dhamar, Ibb, Amran, Hajjah, Mahwit and Rima, as well as large parts of Hodeidah and fronts in Saada and Al-Jawf.
While the Yemeni government extends its control over eastern and southern Yemen, including the temporary capital of Aden, and the governorates of Hadramawt, Al-Mahra, Shabwa, Abyan, Lahj and Al-Dhale, in addition to its economic strongholds in Marib and parts of Taiz and the West Coast.
While the Houthi-controlled areas include the country’s largest population, and are characterized by their fortified mountainous nature, government zones make up the wider geographical range containing oil and gas fields and open seaports.
Attack on oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia
The East-West oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia stopped after the strategic facility was attacked again on Sunday, October 4.
A source in the Saudi oil sector told AFP that the East-West pipeline was subjected to a new attack, targeting a pumping station located in Khurais, east of Riyadh, which had never been targeted before, pointing out that the damage was serious and led to the cessation of pumping operations again.
The latest announcement came a day after the Houthis announced the targeting of Aramco oil sites in Riyadh and the Khurais area in the east of the kingdom, without specifying what they were.
The oil pipeline that allows Saudi Arabia to transport its oil from the east of the Kingdom to the Red Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, was subjected to a previous targeting that led to the cessation of production on September 10, before Saudi Arabia returned it to work on the 22nd of the same month.
