Yemen’s war is back: A new battle for Sanaa and the Red Sea
This phase of the war could be the start of another protracted conflict rather than a decisive campaign, say analysts.
War is once again descending on Yemen, a country once described as the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.
The country is currently experiencing its most serious spell of fighting since 2022, when a United Nations-brokered truce halted eight years of a war that had killed tens of thousands of people.
This week, Yemen’s internationally recognised government launched counterattacks against the Houthi rebels, with fighting intensifying on Monday in the provinces of Taiz, al-Bayda and al-Jawf, the latter seen as one of the main gateways to the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa. The Houthis, meanwhile, say they have repelled some of the government forces’ advances and attacked Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government.
“The confrontation involving the United States, Israel and Iran has changed the strategic value of Yemen,” he told Al Jazeera. “The Houthis are no longer operating only within the framework of Yemen’s civil war; they have demonstrated an ability and willingness to connect the Yemeni battlefield with Red Sea security, international shipping and regional energy infrastructure.”