The Iranian-backed Houthis may be preparing for an offensive against the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen.
The STC is generally viewed as being backed by the UAE and controls part of southern Yemen. The Houthis control the mountainous region of Yemen.
Now that the STC has gained some ground in recent weeks, the Houthis might be planning a counterattack, according to UAE-based news site Al-Ain News.
“Al-Ain News learned from Yemeni security and military sources that the Houthi militias have deployed unprecedented military reinforcements to the southern internal fronts in the country,” the report said. “The sources explained that the Houthi militia’s mobilization comes as part of preparations for a major military offensive towards southern Yemen in response to the southern forces cutting off the militia’s supply lines in Al-Mahra Governorate.”
Yemen is believed to be entering a new phase of conflict.
“The latest developments come as the Southern Transitional Council (STC) has intensified and consolidated its campaign in southern and eastern Yemen, and launched a new military operation in Abyan province this week,” Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, a state-run news agency, reported.
“Yemen was unified in 1990, but political disputes in the south later fueled renewed secessionist calls, particularly after the outbreak of the current civil war in 2014,” the report said. “It is currently under the effective control of multiple administrations, including the Houthis, the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), and the STC.”
“The STC currently controls around 52% of Yemen’s territory,” Anadolu Agency reported. “The Houthis hold approximately 33%, while about 10% remains under the control of Yemen’s internationally recognized government and its allied forces. The remaining 5% is controlled by forces loyal to Tareq Saleh, a nephew of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.”
Houthis reportedly mobilizing ground forces, deploying missile platforms
Al-Ain News said sources told it the “Houthi militias have mobilized their groups to the fronts of Al-Dhali’, Lahj, and Shabwa, coinciding with the digging of trench networks, the reinforcement of military sites, and the deployment of missile platforms and drones.”
The Houthis are moving artillery from the Taiz front toward the south, the report said, adding that the artillery is traversing the mountain roads to the “heights of Al-Ahkum in the same governorate, [as well as] on the outskirts of the Tur Al-Bahah front, north of the southern Lahj governorate.”
The Houthis are also moving units into line on other fronts “adjacent to Al-Musaymir district, which is also part of Lahj governorate, starting from Mawiyah district, located east of Taiz governorate,” Al-Ain News reported.
A number of units have been brought into the sector, and some were moving through various localities in Yemen, the report said.
These kinds of reports are usually based on intelligence sources, but why now?
“The Houthi movements towards southern Yemen come at a sensitive time, coinciding with the repositioning of southern forces in eastern Yemen, which the Houthis considered a threat to their interests, especially with the loss of vital smuggling routes,” Al-Ain News reported.
The goal, apparently, is to create pressure on the STC after its recent successes in Mahra province. As the STC expanded control, it cut off smuggling routes that the Houthis use.
The UAE-backed STC has had success over the past month, unlike forces backed by Saudi Arabia. Although Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have shared interests in the region, they do not always see eye to eye on Yemen, Sudan, or other issues, Al-Ain News reported.
“These developments on the ground come after the Transitional Council forces launched Operation ‘Decisive’ to pursue remnants of al-Qaeda in Abyan and deter the plans of the Houthi militias and the Muslim Brotherhood in the coastal province,” the report said.
The Houthis may feel less pressure these days due to the Gaza ceasefire. They are no longer attacking Israel and can concentrate on fighting the STC.