Houthis push back Saudi-backed forces – The course of the war is changing

Yemen’s Houthis have announced that they have completed an operation against Saudi Arabia-backed forces and taken control of 5,400 square kilometers of territory.

TodayPress TV reports, citing foreign media, that the announcement was made by the Houthis.

Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said that six districts in the Taiz and Hudaydah governorates were captured as part of the operation, which began on September 3. According to him, seven divisions and 38 brigades of the opposing side were defeated during the fighting, while hundreds of military personnel were killed, wounded or captured.

The Houthis also claimed that nine aircraft were shot down during the operation.

The movement announced that it would continue its naval blockade of Saudi-owned vessels. It said other commercial ships would not be targeted. The Houthis stated that they would act according to the principle of “blockade for blockade” and continue the escalation until strikes on Yemen were halted and the blockade imposed on the country was lifted.

According to Euronews, the Houthis have surrounded government forces on the Hanish Islands in the Red Sea. Earlier, reports emerged that Zuqar Island, the largest of the archipelago’s three main islands, had been captured.

The Hanish Islands are located in the southern part of the Red Sea, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, between the coasts of Yemen and Eritrea. The main islands of the archipelago are Zuqar, Greater Hanish and Lesser Hanish. Most of the islands are part of Yemeni territory.

Kubra Musayeva