Al-Alimi announces a military campaign to retake the remaining territories under Houthi control

Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council — the executive body of Yemen’s internationally recognised government — announced today the launch of a new military campaign to retake the remaining territories under Houthi control, as Al Jazeera reports in its live blog on the war in Yemen and Iran.

“Today we announce the launch of military operations to retake what remains of the republic’s lands and to extend the authority of the state and its institutions,” al-Alimi said in the televised address, according to Al Jazeera’s reporting.

Al-Alimi promised Yemenis that the government would confront the Houthis and called on residents in the areas under the rebels’ control to cooperate with the army: “We call on our people in the areas under Houthi control to cooperate with the Yemeni Armed Forces,” he said.

The announcement marks a new escalation in Yemen’s long civil war, where the Houthis — backed by Iran — control large parts of the north of the country, including the capital Sanaa. The campaign comes at a moment when the U.S.–Iran conflict has further deepened the regional dimension of the Yemeni crisis, and only a few hours after airstrikes were reported near the city of Taiz in western Yemen.

No immediate details were given on the duration or scope of the operations, but al-Alimi’s statement — followed by the public call for the support of residents in Houthi-controlled areas — signals that the internationally recognised government is preparing its broadest offensive of recent years against the rebels.