Yemen's government launches Houthi counteroffensive: What has changed?

Yemen's internationally recognized government is trying to show it has finally seized the initiative against the Houthis in a war that has dragged on for years.

The announcement on Monday of Operation Yemeni Dawn, aimed at restoring state authority across the country, was quickly followed by a military offensive along the southern Red Sea coast.

The immediate aim is to reverse the gains the Houthis made last month, when the Iran-backed armed group took control of one of the world's most important shipping lanes, the Bab al-Mandeb strait. The campaign's ultimate goal, however, is to retake areas the Houthis have held for more than a decade, including the capital Sanaa — which the group has controlled by force since 2014, when it later set up its own administration.

That is a tall order, and the results so far remain modest — most notably a limited advance into areas near Bab al-Mandeb.

Even so, the attacks suggest the Saudi-backed Yemeni government's campaign is being conducted in a more organized way — a notable point after last month's defeat and the loss of the Red Sea coast to the Houthis. The group is also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for "Supporters of God").

Key problems facing government forces in early September included a lack of cohesion among anti-Houthi groups, a lack of military preparation, and what analysts described as Houthi penetration of government forces' communications.

It is too early to say whether those problems have been resolved, but the Houthis' failure to consolidate the highlands overlooking the areas they seized in the southern Red Sea has left the group vulnerable to counterattack.

Other factors, taken together, suggest the government's shift to the offensive could yield more success than it has achieved since fighting resumed in Yemen in July, ending a fragile ceasefire in force since 2022.

Most notably, there is the involvement of Saudi Arabia, which is providing heavy air support. On Monday, the Saudi-led coalition backing the Yemeni government said 100 fighter jets had taken part in the offensive — the first time in four years, since the 2022 ceasefire, that the coalition has acknowledged resuming airstrikes against the Houthis, despite reports of strikes in September.

The airstrikes have supported government forces attacking the Houthis on several fronts beyond the Red Sea coast, including Taiz, Marib and al-Jawf.

Maged al-Madhaji, chairman of the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, told Al Jazeera that "the frequency and precision of the airstrikes" is higher than before, even compared with the early phase of the Saudi-led coalition's anti-Houthi bombing campaign in 2015.

Combined with intelligence from the United States, the airstrikes have become more effective and are coordinated with ground forces. A US official told Al Jazeera on Monday that 200 American advisers are stationed in Saudi Arabia to support the campaign.

Lebanese retired general Elias Hanna said this coordination points to a unified command structure — a key factor for military success.

"There is a central leadership running the operations and coordinating between ground forces and the air force," he told Al Jazeera on Monday. "The air force strikes, but then the ground forces have to take territory, maintain a presence and control it."

According to Hanna, US expertise essentially provides an "intelligence bank" of targets, enabling repeated strikes on Houthi positions.

The Giants Brigades

Another factor that sets the government's offensive apart from the fighting in early September is the prominent role of the Giants Brigades.

Previously trained by the United Arab Emirates and now backed by Saudi Arabia, the force was present when areas were lost to the Houthis on the Red Sea, but in smaller numbers. This time, the brigade is leading the battle in that area and in the al-Waziyah district of Taiz, which overlooks the port city of Mocha.

The Giants Brigades previously defeated the Houthis in Shabwah in 2022, pushing the group out of the southeastern coastal province as well as parts of Marib and al-Bayda, east of Sanaa.

"They are the most experienced force with the Houthis' methods of warfare," al-Madhaji said, "because they are the force that has confronted the Houthis the most across different battlefields — some flat terrain, some mountainous."

"In effect, this is the first time we have seen Saudi operational management, together with forces that were under UAE management, produce effective results," al-Madhaji added. "That shows the operations room has been unified and coordination between the parties has become more effective."

International support

Less noticed has been the fighting in Marib and al-Jawf, two largely desert provinces east of Sanaa, but government forces have also claimed progress there.

Developments there could prove decisive for the government's stated ultimate goal: retaking Sanaa, which the Houthis have held since 2014. Improved coordination between ground forces, the air force and intelligence gathering is the only way a multi-pronged offensive on the capital could be mounted, though that remains a distant prospect.

The Houthis themselves cannot be underestimated. Their forces have so far held firm and regrouped after Monday's losses in the town of Dhubab on the southwestern Red Sea coast, while continuing to advance towards the government-held city of Taiz — one of the country's most important centers.

Government morale remains fragile — further setbacks, especially in Taiz, would once again change the picture.

The Houthis also have strong missile and drone capabilities — reinforced over the past four years — and have stepped up attacks on government forces as well as Saudi Arabia. Forcing them out of newly seized territory is difficult, but forcing them out of territory they have held for years — such as the major port city of Hodeidah — would be even harder.

Unlike previous escalations of the conflict, however, the government and Saudi Arabia now have stronger international backing.

The Houthis can attack shipping in the Red Sea to demonstrate the damage they can inflict if attacked, but that also highlights the risk of letting the group continue to control the area, especially as Iran pursues a similar policy on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, at the Strait of Hormuz.

The United Kingdom has said it will provide defensive support to Saudi Arabia, and on Monday the kingdom's mutual defense pact with Turkey and Pakistan was also activated. Ankara has not confirmed any troop deployment, but Islamabad says it is taking part in supporting roles, including "reconnaissance".

That international backing could prove crucial — both diplomatically and militarily — to the success of the anti-Houthi campaign, an operation that could last for months.