President Rashad al-Alimi said in a televised address that the operation would aim to restore government authority across the country, Reuters reported.
“Today, I announce the start of military operations to retake the remaining territory of the republic and extend the authority of the state and its institutions across the entire national territory,” al-Alimi said.
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Regional and Western officials had previously said that Saudi Arabia and its Yemeni allies were preparing an offensive against the Houthis, with Saudi forces expected to provide air support while Yemeni forces conduct ground operations.
Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition supporting the internationally recognized government after the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa.
A truce agreed between the warring sides in 2022 largely held until this year, when the Houthis launched missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi shipping and oil infrastructure amid the wider conflict involving Iran.
The announcement comes as Houthi forces continue to hold the initiative on several fronts. The group seized control of the strategically important Bab el-Mandeb Strait weeks ago in an offensive along Yemen’s western coast that forced government forces to retreat.
Bab el-Mandeb is the southern gateway to the Red Sea and a major international shipping route linking the Mediterranean with Asia. Its strategic importance has increased as the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed amid the Iran conflict.
Military sources said the Houthis had made further advances over the past 48 hours near Taiz, capturing strategic hilltops and moving toward the last road connecting the city with Aden, where the Saudi-backed government is based.
Control of the Taiz-Aden road could effectively isolate Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, where hundreds of thousands of civilians live alongside thousands of government forces.
The Houthis’ control of the area could also strengthen their position around Bab el-Mandeb by giving them access to mountain positions overlooking the coastal region, according to Yemeni journalist and political analyst Mohammed Al-Qadhi.
“This will help them protect their back in case of any operation against the coastline, and make recapturing those areas much more difficult,” he said.
The fighting has also worsened Yemen’s humanitarian crisis. The World Food Programme said last week that three in four families in some parts of the country were going hungry as renewed fighting displaced tens of thousands of people and disrupted supplies to millions.
