Can the Houthis hold on to Yemen’s strategic western coast?
Houthi coastal advances face hurdles: geography, local resistance and fierce government counterattacks.
Following rapid territorial gains on Yemen’s Red Sea coast, the Houthi movement’s ability to maintain control over the strategic Bab al-Mandeb area now faces major military and logistical tests.
The military escalation, which has intensified over the past two and a half months, recently altered a map of control that had remained almost static for the past four years. But while Houthi forces have successfully pushed into coastal territories, seizing the Greater and Lesser Hanish islands and Mayyun Island, retaining these gains presents a deeply complex challenge.
Saeed Thabit, Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Yemen, said that the group’s geographical achievements also bring with them immediate structural vulnerabilities.
Faced with these counterattacks, the Houthis have attempted to alleviate pressure on the western coast by heavily escalating attacks on Marib and Lahj.