U.S. Support Request: Anti-Houthi Forces Call for Military Aid Against Houthis in Yemen
Anti-Houthi groups in Yemen might be casing a smackdown on the Houthi movement, according to analysts and experts who spilled the beans to Al Jazeera, after an escalation in US airstrikes targeting Houthi territory.
The war in Yemen has been chillin' for the last three years, but now anti-Houthi forces aligned with the Yemeni government are hinting at launching attacks on territories under the control of the pro-Iranian Houthis, including the vital port of Hodeidah.
Hodeidah on the Chopping Block
A sweeping operation on Hodeidah, a vital Red Sea coast entry point for food and goods, looked like a done deal in 2018, only to get canned after United Nations and international intervention, over fears of a humanitarian disaster in Yemen.
But experts and analysts aren't feeling too hopeful about an attack by anti-Houthi groups on their domestic rivals being successful, despite some likening it to the offensive that ditched another Iran ally, former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in late 2024.
"Pro-ROYG [Republic of Yemen Government] voices have been yappin' up a storm about ground operations against the Houthis - in Hodeidah and potentially elsewhere - being imminent," says independent Yemen analyst Hannah Porter to Al Jazeera.
"My impression so far is that these comments are just to grab some US or Saudi [Arabia] support for a takeover of Hodeidah."
Vying for US Support
The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, rolled into Sanaa and took over the Yemeni capital in 2014, prompting a Saudi Arabian-led coalition to wade in on behalf of Yemen's internationally recognized government to battle the Houthis.
Anti-Houthi forces made some headway in the initial skirmishes but hit a roadblock after the scrapped Hodeidah campaign in 2018. The Houthis have been on top militarily since then. Saudi Arabia announced a halt to hostilities in Yemen in March 2022, but a UN-brokered truce put a damper on most of the fighting the following month.
By then, the Houthis still controlled Sanaa and much of northwest Yemen, while anti-Houthi groups held the key port city of Aden and much of southern and eastern Yemen.
Dysfunctional Government
The Yemeni government has seen some upheaval in recent years. In 2022, President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi unexpectedly stepped down and handed over power to an eight-member Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), which has so far proven ineffective. PLC Prime Minister Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak threw in the towel on Sunday, claiming he was blocked from carrying out his duties, as rumors swirled of conflicts between Bin Mubarak, President Rashad al-Alimi, and accusations of mission creep.
The PLC includes members who have previously fought against the Yemeni government, including Aydarous al-Zubaidi, head of the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC), and Tareq Saleh, nephew of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a one-time ally of the Houthis.
Saudi Arabia's bombing campaign against Yemen, as well as attacks on Israel itself, has stirred up anti-Houthi forces.
"We've been witnessing various anti-Houthi factions lobbying for US support since the start of the Gaza crisis," Yemen expert Nick Brumfield tells Al Jazeera.
"Both the Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council have been competing to present themselves as the solution to the US's need for a partner on the ground against the Houthis in Yemen."
Plan vs Reality
The Yemeni government has long maintained that its ultimate objective is the defeat of the Houthis and an end to the group's "coup" against the Yemeni state. In early April, President al-Alimi spoke of the importance of national unity "to topple the coup," adding that the "decisive hour" of the "battle for liberation" was drawing near.
Al-Alimi hasn't given any indication of when that battle against the Houthis would be, but forces under the umbrella of the Yemeni government may see an uptick in US air support under President Donald Trump's administration.
The US claims the strikes have significantly degraded Houthi capabilities. However, Houthi authorities claim that at least 123 Yemenis have been killed in the strikes since they intensified in mid-March, many of them civilians.
Reporting from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Bloomberg suggests that discussions for an anti-Houthi ground operation, backed by the US, are underway. However, the UAE, mentioned as a possible partner in the operation, has denied any involvement.
Prospects for an Attack
Tareq Saleh has been mentioned in news reports as a likely leader of any anti-Houthi campaign on the Red Sea coast. However, there is currently no noticeable mobilization on the ground by anti-Houthi Yemeni armed groups.
"The PLC has been prattling about liberating Sanaa and such," says Yemen researcher Raiman Al-Hamdani to Al Jazeera.
"As far as I know, there has been little mobilization towards this end. Whether they can is a very different story, especially with Saudi Arabia and the UAE no longer wanting to engage in war with the Houthis."
After years of fighting, the Saudis and Houthis entered into ceasefire discussions in 2022, leaving anti-Houthi groups - including the Yemeni government - uncertain about their future and the Houthis further entrenched in power.
Al Jazeera reached out to the Yemeni government for comment on this story but received no response before publication.
Keen on the Status Quo
Launching an advance on Sanaa, high in the Yemeni mountains and closer to the Houthi heartland in Yemen's far north, would be a challenge for Yemeni government forces. It would demand a major turnaround in fortunes and a massive shift in allegiance, as many of Yemen's most powerful tribes currently back the Houthis.
The main target of any proposed operation, however, would likely be Hodeidah, which lies on a coastal plain and whose population is less supportive of the Houthis. Losing Hodeidah, as well as other areas of the Red Sea coast, would still represent a setback for the Houthis and limit the group's ability to attack shipping on the vital sea route.
That strategy aligns with the US's primary goal of limiting the Houthis' ability to attack the region, even if the group is still capable of launching missiles further afield.
But any attempt to take Hodeidah would likely require a fierce campaign, and so far, no force - including the US - seems willing to fully back the anti-Houthi forces militarily. This could be a deal-breaker, considering the Yemeni government's inability to defeat the Houthis even when it had heavy military support from the Saudi-led coalition earlier in the war.
"The Houthis will throw everything they've got behind defending Hodeidah," says Porter.
"Their port access is crucial to their survival." She adds that the Houthis are more likely to be in a better military position to defend Hodeidah than any force attempting to advance on it.
"Honestly, I think the Republic of Yemen Government and the Presidential Leadership Council are not very invested in shaking things up," Porter says.
"If there was a viable opportunity to take Hodeidah Port, then they would seize on that, but I don't think they'll have the support they need."
Breaking news: The imminent launch of attacks by anti-Houthi forces on territories under the control of the Houthis, including Hodeidah, remains uncertain despite the increased US airstrikes targeting Houthi territory. The experts and analysts, however, have voiced skepticism about the potential success of such an operation, citing the strategic importance of Hodeidah and the failure of previous attempts.
Meanwhile, pro-ROYG (Republic of Yemen Government) voices are seen as vying for US support to mount ground operations against the Houthis, but the lack of noticeable mobilization on the ground by anti-Houthi Yemeni armed groups raises questions about their actual readiness for the conflict. The ultimate goal of the Yemeni government and other anti-Houthi forces is to defeat the Houthis and end their control, but secure US backing and successful mobilization will be critical for any future offensive.
