Yemen announces military operations to retake Houthi-held territory

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - ADEN — Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi announced Sunday the start of military operations to retake remaining territory outside government control and restore state authority across the country.

He declared a shift “from preparation to action” after the exhaustion of all opportunities for de-escalation.

In an address to the Yemeni people, Al-Alimi said the decision was taken under his constitutional responsibility to protect the country’s sovereignty and citizens, based on National Defense Council decisions and following the completion of necessary military preparations.

He said he had ordered the armed forces, security services and military formations to begin carrying out their missions under approved plans aimed at restoring state institutions and ending Houthi control.

‘All opportunities for peace exhausted’

Al-Alimi said the government had given peace “all the time and opportunities it deserved,” but accused the Houthis of responding with further mobilization and escalation, including attacks and threats against civilians, national infrastructure, neighboring countries and international waterways.

He said the government now had a national responsibility to confront the Houthis as long as weapons remained outside state authority and continued to pose a threat to citizens, Yemen’s sovereignty, regional security and international navigation.

Al-Alimi stressed that the campaign was not directed against residents of Sanaa, Saada, Hodeidah, Amran, Dhamar or Ibb, nor against any sect or tribe.

Rather, he described it as “the state’s battle for its citizens and the restoration of its institutions,” aimed at preventing Yemenis’ political will and future from being determined by force of arms.

Civilians urged to stay away from military sites

Addressing people living in Houthi-controlled areas, Al-Alimi said civilians were “not targets of the operations” and that protecting their security, rights and dignity was among the campaign’s principal objectives.

He urged civilians to stay away from military positions, gatherings and Houthi supply routes and called on families not to allow their children to be drawn into the fighting.

Al-Alimi said the door remained open for “safe return and the announced amnesty” for those who lay down their weapons and stop fighting alongside the Houthis, in accordance with previously announced procedures.

He ordered the armed forces, security services, military formations and popular resistance groups to comply with the law and protect civilians and property.

“The mission is not only to retake the land, but to restore the state to it,” Al-Alimi said.

“There will be no revenge, no retaliation, no attacks on innocent people and no infringement on citizens’ property,” he added, saying every city retaken by government forces should immediately feel that it had returned to state authority.

Salaries, reconstruction and return of displaced people

Alongside the military campaign, Al-Alimi directed the government to prepare a program under which state institutions would resume their responsibilities in cities, districts and governorates retaken by government forces.

Priorities would include resuming salaries for state employees and addressing outstanding payments retroactively, launching an urgent recovery and reconstruction program, repairing roads, electricity and water networks and damaged facilities, and creating conditions for displaced people to return and economic activity to resume.

Al-Alimi said retaking territory would not mark the end of the mission, adding that success would be measured not by the number of cities recovered but by the restoration of security, the return of families to their homes and guarantees against a recurrence of killings, repression and the seizure of political will.

Commitment to southern dialogue

Al-Alimi reiterated his commitment to the outcome of the Saudi-sponsored southern dialogue, saying it should lead to a just and comprehensive solution to the southern issue.

He said the sacrifices made by Yemen’s southern governorates and their people throughout the years of conflict would remain part of the country’s national memory.

Al-Alimi praises Saudi support

Al-Alimi also expressed appreciation for Saudi Arabia’s support for Yemen and its state institutions, as well as the Kingdom’s role in alleviating the suffering of Yemenis and hosting millions of Yemeni citizens.

He described Saudi Arabia as “a genuine partner in the destiny, security, stability and peace of Yemen and the region.”

Al-Alimi called on regional and international partners to support Yemen, its armed forces and national institutions, as well as humanitarian, economic, recovery and reconstruction efforts in areas returning to government control.

State institutions placed on full alert

Al-Alimi said Yemen’s military, security and civilian institutions would remain on full alert until the mission was completed.

He said the next phase would combine military operations with the restoration of state institutions, public services and reconstruction.

The government would press ahead with the campaign with the support of the armed forces, the Yemeni people and regional and international partners until state institutions and authority were restored across the country, he added.