Yemen’s Houthis claim they still retain full control over all recently captured territory along the Red Sea coast, disputing claims of government gains.
SANAA: Yemen’s Houthis said Tuesday they still held all territory recently seized including strategic areas along the Red Sea coast, disputing government claims of major gains.
The Iran-backed group, which controls most of northwest Yemen, captured swathes of coastal land from pro-government forces last month, after their civil war reignited in July.
Houthi fighters “have full control over all their advances on the ground”, the group’s military spokesman Yahya Saree posted on Telegram.
It was not possible to independently verify the claims from either side, in an area where access for journalists is difficult and events are moving quickly.
Saree also said the Houthis had carried out dozens of strikes in the past few hours targeting government forces in the Al-Jawf and Marib regions, while also attacking Taiz governorate.
Late on Monday, the Houthis said they had struck the main international airport in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, which backs Yemen’s government.
They also claimed to have struck a refinery belonging to Saudi state oil giant Aramco.
Saudi Arabia leads an international coalition that has been fighting the Houthis since 2015, and is now trying to roll back the latest advance.
On Monday, the coalition said it was providing air support for a counter-offensive launched by Yemeni government forces.
Yemen’s government forces late Monday claimed “victories on several fronts” including pushing the Houthis out of the Bab al-Mandab area, the southern gateway to the Red Sea oil-and-cargo shipping route.
They also said they had forced the Houthis from the airport in Dhubab and the port city of Mocha, which the Iran-backed fighters captured during their lightning offensive last month.
But military sources with the government refrained from confirming Mocha’s recapture, saying only that they had cut the one supply route to the area.
Yemen’s civil war has flared up again after years of relative calm, opening a new front in the wider Middle East war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.
The Houthis last month seized control of the entire western coastline of Yemen along the Red Sea in the country’s deadliest fighting in years.
They have regularly targeted oil and military installations in Saudi Arabia and declared a maritime blockade on its ships.
The Yemen conflict has caused a dire humanitarian crisis that left most of the population dependent on aid.
More than 184,000 people were displaced by the latest fighting, according to the United Nations.
