Houthis advance on Aden as govt bolsters city defences

Houthis advance on Aden as govt bolsters city defences

Yemen's Houthis were advancing on the interim seat of the internationally recognised government on Sunday, positioned just 60 kilometres from Aden, sources told AFP, as government forces rushed to defend the city.

Houthis advance on Aden as govt bolsters city defences

Four military sources within government forces and two government sources said the Houthis had seized control of two districts in Lahj province and were moving towards Aden.

They said the Houthis were positioned at the Al-Kharaz camp in Al-Madariba, 60 kilometres from the city.

The Houthis, who control most of northwest Yemen the country's most populous region have been battling the Saudi-backed government for territory for more than a decade.

In recent weeks they have made major gains on the ground, seizing the Red Sea coast in a lightning offensive, while launching regular attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Yemen's government on Sunday said it was redeploying its forces from areas near the Red Sea to reinforce troops "where current circumstances require", with securing Aden and nearby provinces taking priority.

Military officials told AFP on Friday that government forces had begun erecting sandbag defences and digging tunnels around Aden as the Houthis pressed southwards.

Four military sources confirmed the withdrawal from Red Sea areas after the Houthis advanced along the coast of Lahj province, which lies between the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait and Aden.

The Houthis have also seized the mountainous region of Al-Maqatirah, through which runs the main road connecting Aden to Taiz, which has been under Houthi siege for weeks.

Government forces said Sunday they would "continue operations aimed at breaking the siege of Taiz".

- Prisoner release -

The Houthis have taken control of strategic positions in the Al-Maqatira district and large parts of Al-Madariba and Al-Arah, the largest districts in Lahj province in southwestern Yemen, officials told AFP.

They have repeatedly attacked the city of Aden in recent weeks, including an assault on October 15 that targeted the presidential palace and left four people dead, according to government military sources.

The Iran-backed group previously launched an unsuccessful bid to seize Aden early in the war in 2015.

On Sunday a Houthi missile attack killed eight people near the city, sources told AFP.

Twelve others were wounded in the attack on a checkpoint in Lahj province, according to military and government sources, who requested anonymity.

Even as fighting raged, the Houthis on Sunday released 600 members of government forces held since hostilities resumed in July, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross .

The Houthis called the release a humanitarian initiative and accused their adversaries of failing to make reciprocal moves.

They said it was "the largest unilateral prisoner release and pardon operation in the history of the conflict".

Yemen's internationally recognised government has been based in Aden since it was driven from the capital Sanaa by the Houthis in 2014.

A 2022 truce that had paused fighting in the long-running conflict fell apart in July, restarting hostilities.

Since then, the Houthis have expanded their control along Yemen's western coastline, tightening their grip over the Bab al-Mandab strait, a vital gateway for global trade between Asia and Europe.

- 'Ghost soldiers' -

Repeated attempts by the government to retake Yemen's western coast have failed, leaving both the country's southern shoreline and Aden increasingly vulnerable to Houthi advances.

Dozens of people were killed in fighting last week, according to sources on both sides.

"Government forces have remained largely trapped in a defensive posture, unable to open new fronts, stretch Houthi resources, or regain the initiative," said Mohammed al-Basha of the US-based risk advisory Basha Report.

"This failure reflects a lack of political will, fragmented command structures, factional rivalries, and the persistent problem of ghost soldiers, with manpower figures that exist on paper but not on the battlefield," he told AFP.

The Houthis were "dictating the pace and direction of the war", Basha said.

The United Nations says more than 1,600 people have been killed and over 300,000 displaced since fighting resumed in the impoverished country.

On Sunday the UN's refugee agency said it was "gravely concerned" by reports of clashes around the Kharaz refugee camp in Lahj province, adding that 9,600 refugees were at risk.

The fighting was constraining the agency's ability to provide protection and humanitarian assistance, it said.

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