Al-Alimi announces the start of operations to “restore the remainder of Yemen’s lands”

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The head of the Yemeni Presidential Command Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, announced on Sunday the start of military operations to restore the remainder of Yemen's lands, confirming the government's transition from the stage of preparation to the "stage of work to restore the state."

Al-Alimi said in a letter addressed to the Yemenis that the current steps come within a path that he said he announced on September 26 to prepare for what he described as the “national battle,” noting that the state gave the peace option the time and opportunities it deserves.

The announcement comes after a military escalation on several fronts during the past weeks, amid confrontations between forces affiliated with the Yemeni government and the Houthis. In September, government forces announced field gains in Al-Jawf, Al-Bayda, Taiz, and Hodeidah.

Al-Alimi confirmed that the authorities had moved from the stage of preparation to action, announcing the start of military operations aimed at reclaiming the remaining areas outside government control.

In late September, the Chairman of the Leadership Council called for general mobilization, and directed the implementation of procedures related to the decision to open the door to “safe return” for those wishing to leave the ranks of the Houthis, according to the official website of the Presidency of the Leadership Council.

Al-Alimi also said in his speech that his government had “exhausted all opportunities for calm” with the Houthis, accusing the group of targeting neighboring countries and international corridors, and forcing children into the fighting.

Al-Alimi had previously confirmed, during consultations with military leaders on October 1, that operations would continue according to a plan aimed, according to him, at restoring state institutions and the capital, Sanaa, and ending Houthi control.

Al-Alimi's announcement represents a new escalation in the course of the Yemeni war, after years that witnessed a relative decline in the intensity of the widespread battles. The Associated Press reported on Sunday that raids targeted Sanaa and Saada Governorate, while government forces claimed responsibility for the strikes, in a development the agency described as a major escalation after years of relative calm.

In August, the Presidential Command Council confirmed the readiness of the armed forces and military formations to restore state institutions, before the government spoke in September of regaining the initiative on a number of fronts.

The announcement of the start of operations opens a new phase of confrontation in Yemen, while the nature and expansion of the operations and future field objectives remain linked to developments on the fronts during the coming period.