The Armed Forces of Yemen have reported this Monday the "neutralization" of 1,747 fighters of the Houthi militia in the context of the extensive military counteroffensive launched by the Government to try to regain full control of the country. This balance comes from more than a thousand "precision strikes" carried out on different fronts, according to data released by the state news agency Saba, linked to the Executive recognized by the international community.
The official spokesman for the Armed Forces, Colonel Majid Al Nuzaili, has specified in a statement collected by this agency that 1,122 attacks have been executed against artillery pieces, command and control posts, supply lines, and fortifications of the rebels. In these operations, combat aircraft, drones, heavy artillery, and sniper teams have intervened, concentrated mainly in the provinces of Saada, Al Yauf, Taiz, and along the coastal strip, where 364 vehicles and military equipment have also been destroyed or rendered out of service.
This offensive takes place after the president of the Presidential Leadership Council of Yemen, Rashad al Alimi, declared a state of "maximum alert" throughout the territory and ordered a general mobilization with the aim of expelling the Houthis from the capital, Sana'a, under their control since late 2014, and defeating the Ansarallah movement, supported by Iran. On Sunday, the leader urged all military units to advance according to the already approved plans "until the country is liberated from the control of the Houthi terrorist militia."
The resurgence of fighting is framed within the significant territorial gains that the insurgents achieved in early September in areas of Taiz and Hodeida, where they managed to take the city of Mocha and areas near the strategic Bab el Mandeb strait. In parallel to this military escalation, Al Alimi has offered a general amnesty to Houthi fighters who choose to lay down their arms and has reiterated his commitment to reach a fair solution for the southern separatists, essential partners of the Aden Government, who, as he has emphasized, have borne the main economic and security burden during the last decade of war.
After Al Alimi's announcement, the coalition forces for Yemen led by Saudi Arabia indicated that "they continue to provide full support" to the Armed Forces of the internationally recognized Government of Yemen.