Military support alone is not enough: What we need most to achieve a decisive victory over the Houthis
Fighting in Military Region Six, Al-Jawf Governorate — Yemeni government forces.
Abdullah Abdul Karim Al-Duais is Ambassador of the Republic of Yemen to the Republic of Lebanon and the Republic of Cyprus
The “Dawn of Yemen” battle is no longer merely a military operation to retake geographical positions from the Houthi militia. Rather, it represents a strategic shift in the course of the confrontation aimed at restoring Yemen’s state institutions, ending the coup, and curbing Iranian influence, which has turned Yemen into a platform for regional threats and coercion. Iran has exploited Yemen’s geographical position overlooking the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the world’s most important maritime corridors for international trade and energy supplies.
From this perspective, the battle’s significance extends beyond Yemen’s domestic affairs to encompass regional security, stability, and freedom of international navigation. This is particularly important amid escalating tensions that have made Bab al-Mandab a strategically significant extension of the Strait of Hormuz.
The operation began within the framework of a Yemeni-Saudi partnership intended to change the balance on the ground, halt Houthi expansion along the western coast, and restore the military initiative.
However, a decisive victory cannot be achieved through military operations alone. It requires continued support for the Yemeni-Saudi coalition, coordinated defensive and naval efforts, humanitarian and economic assistance, and stronger institutions of the legitimate state.
Air support from the coalition led by Saudi Arabia helped create the conditions for government forces and allied formations to advance along multiple fronts. According to information reported about the operation, approximately 100 fighter jets participated in providing round-the-clock air cover across the various fronts. The air campaign also targeted positions the Houthis had used to consolidate their control and threaten strategically important areas.
In the early stages of the operation, the Giants Brigades, the Nation’s Shield Forces, and the Tihama Brigades managed to retake Dhubab and strategic positions within the Bab al-Mandab Strait itself. They also cleared areas of mines planted by the militia and advanced across extensive parts of Al-Wazi’iyah District and the Khabub highlands.
The significance of these gains is not limited to their immediate military value. They also involve reclaiming positions that control movement and supply routes and provide oversight of the maritime corridor, thereby limiting the Houthis’ ability to exploit Yemen’s geography as a means of exerting pressure on behalf of Tehran.
Losing positions overlooking Bab al-Mandab would narrow the scope for Iranian influence to use Yemen’s coastline to threaten maritime traffic and disrupt regional and international security calculations.
In this context, reports concerning Iran’s direct role in directing Houthi operations along the western coast are particularly significant. Reuters reported on September 10, citing Yemeni military sources, that commanders from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Quds Force were playing a role in directing Iranian efforts associated with the western coastal front.
This information raises fundamental questions about the nature of Iranian oversight of these operations and the extent to which Houthi movements are connected to regional calculations that go beyond Yemen itself.
It also reinforces the need to address the Houthi threat as part of a broader system that uses missiles, drones, and coastal positions to advance Iran’s strategic objectives.
The danger of this approach becomes even clearer when considering attacks on civilian facilities and airports, both inside Yemen and in Saudi Arabia.
The Houthi missile and drone attack on Aden International Airport represented a dangerous escalation. One missile reportedly landed near the runway just minutes before a flight arriving from Cairo was scheduled to land. This forced authorities to divert the aircraft, evacuate parts of the airport, and take measures to protect passengers and aircraft.
The attack could have caused a humanitarian catastrophe had the missile struck the aircraft or groups of passengers. It exposed the Houthis’ disregard for civilian lives and the safety of civil aviation.
The escalation extended to Saudi Arabia, where King Khalid International Airport was subjected to missile and drone attacks as part of a series of assaults targeting civil aviation facilities.
Reports also indicated that a deadly attack on the airport and a Saudi Airlines aircraft killed 12 people and injured more than 300 others, including Saudi nationals and residents of the Kingdom, with injuries of varying severity. Riyadh then came under another attack on October 11, which killed one person and injured 11, according to statements published by Saudi authorities.
These incidents demonstrate that targeting airports, aircraft, and civilian infrastructure is no longer a passing threat. It has become a direct danger to civilian lives, aviation security, and regional stability.
They also show that the militia’s continued possession and use of missiles and drones outside the framework of state authority and the rule of law threatens to widen the conflict. This makes the establishment of a deterrence system and regional defense cooperation increasingly urgent.
This is where efforts to strengthen defense cooperation among countries concerned with regional security become particularly important. These include Riyadh’s partnerships with Arab and Islamic countries, as well as proposals advanced under the framework of the Mecca Defense Alliance to enhance coordination and joint capabilities against emerging threats.
If translated into clear, practical mechanisms, such frameworks could improve early-warning systems, intelligence sharing, and the development of capabilities to intercept missiles and drones, while protecting critical infrastructure and national airspace.
Naval cooperation led by Riyadh is another complementary avenue for these efforts. It can help coordinate the protection of maritime corridors, secure commercial shipping, and counter threats to navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
These initiatives should not be viewed as alternatives to a political solution. Rather, they are necessary defensive and deterrent measures to protect states, civilian interests, and commercial activities, and to prevent the Houthis from imposing new realities through force.
At the Yemeni level, the lasting success of the “Dawn of Yemen” battle requires turning battlefield gains into a comprehensive plan to restore state institutions, strengthen the presence of legitimate authorities, secure liberated areas, protect civilians, and provide essential services to displaced people and those affected by the conflict.
The battle cannot be separated from the suffering of Yemenis , who have paid a heavy price as a result of the coup and the war. Their suffering includes displacement, deteriorating humanitarian conditions, the recruitment of children, and obstacles to the delivery of aid, essential services, and vaccination campaigns.
Consequently, reclaiming territory must go hand in hand with rebuilding state institutions, consolidating security, and upholding the rule of law. Otherwise, military victories could prove temporary, allowing the Houthis to reorganize their forces and threaten these areas once again.
This is the battle’s broader objective: restoring the Yemeni state, ending the subordination of its strategic position to Iranian influence, and paving the way for a just and lasting peace that restores the Yemeni people’s right to security, stability, and the opportunity to build their future.
Over the coming weeks, we expect military pressure on the Houthis to continue. Depending on developments on the ground, operations may focus on consolidating existing gains and expanding them toward the city of Mokha and its surrounding areas, as well as completing the recapture of strategic positions along the western coast.
The Taiz front also remains critically important. It is expected to witness the greatest military effort in the coming days, with the aim of retaking areas that remain under Houthi control, ending the siege imposed on the city, and opening roads for civilians and humanitarian supplies.
At the same time, expanded operations on the fronts in Marib, Al-Jawf, and Al-Bayda, potentially accompanied by movements along other axes, could place the Houthis under simultaneous pressure, limiting their ability to concentrate their forces and fortify their positions.
Saada, as the militia’s historic and military center of gravity, remains part of the broader equation for restoring the state and ending the coup. Achieving this objective, however, requires cohesive military and political coordination, unifying efforts under the umbrella of the legitimate government, and avoiding divisions within the anti-coup camp that the Houthis could exploit.
The Yemeni leadership’s call for general mobilization, coupled with an offer of safe return for those who were misled by the Houthis and have decided to lay down their arms, carries an important message: the battle is intended to end the coup and restore the state, not to exact revenge on Yemenis. The door remains open to anyone who chooses to stand with their country and its institutions.
The significance of “Dawn of Yemen” lies in its ability to link the recovery of territory with the protection of sovereignty and regional security.
Driving the militia out of positions overlooking Bab al-Mandab and limiting its ability to threaten airports, civilian infrastructure, and international shipping represent essential steps toward depriving the Iranian project of one of its most important instruments of regional pressure.
Nevertheless, a decisive outcome cannot be achieved through military operations alone. It requires continued support for the Yemeni-Saudi coalition, coordinated defensive and naval efforts, humanitarian and economic assistance, and stronger institutions of the legitimate state.
Ultimately, the “Dawn of Yemen” battle opens a window of opportunity to restore the national initiative and reshape the balance of power. Its success depends on turning battlefield advances into a sustainable process of reclaiming the governorates and restoring state institutions, ultimately reaching the capital, Sana’a, ending the coup, and restoring independent national decision-making.
A safe and stable Yemen that exercises sovereignty over its territory, coastline, and ports is the true guarantee of security for its people and neighbors, as well as of protecting Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea from political and military exploitation.
This is the battle’s ultimate objective: restoring the Yemeni state, ending the subordination of its strategic position to Iranian influence, and paving the way for a just and lasting peace that restores the Yemeni people’s right to security, stability, and the opportunity to build their future.
