Yemen’s internationally recognized government said its forces had recaptured the strategic port city of Mocha and key positions near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait as they continued a major counter-offensive against the Houthis.
The Saudi-backed government’s military said on Monday that a “strategic offensive” had also been launched on Yemen’s capital Sanaa, which the Houthis have controlled since 2014.
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The Houthis have denied the fall of Mocha.
Al Jazeera could not independently verify the battlefield claims.
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The Saudi-led military coalition supporting the government also said Monday it had launched an air campaign against the Houthis.
Coalition spokesman General Turki al-Maliki said 100 warplanes were supporting Yemeni government forces and that the coalition had provided “air protection” over Bab al-Mandeb. Hundreds of Houthi targets have been destroyed, he added.
Houthis reject response
Earlier on Monday, Yemeni government forces said they had regained control of the Dhubab district in Taiz governorate and key positions near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, as they seek to oust the Iran-aligned Houthis from control of this strategic waterway – a key route for global energy supplies.
The government-friendly Saba news agency reported that “forces of the Fatherland Shield Forces and the Giants Brigades” were involved in the fighting in Dhubab.
“During the operation, they advanced and took important positions, cutting supply lines and roads leading to Bab al-Mandeb,” an unnamed military source told Saba.
Government forces “continue to comb and secure liberated areas and cut off supply routes to the Houthi terrorist militia,” Saba reported.
The Houthis have rejected the allegations, with the group’s deputy governor in Taiz, Fuad Sinan, issuing a video statement from the town of Moka on Monday evening.
“We are currently wandering the streets of Mocha town… denying any reports in the media about the occupation of Mocha town,” Sinan said in the video statement shared by Houthi officials on social media.
Al Jazeera’s Yousef Mawry, reporting from Sanaa, said that amid conflicting claims, “what we know for sure is that intense fighting is currently taking place in southern Bab al-Mandeb, as well as near the city of Taiz.”
He added: “We have to wait and see how the news unfolds in the coming hours so we can 100% confirm who is in control. »
The Houthis also claimed responsibility for an attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and the Aramco refinery on the Rabigh coast. The group also said it hit a series of sites, including an airport, an air base and other critical locations.
There has been no confirmation from Riyadh on the Houthis’ claims.
‘Turning’
The fighting marks the latest twist in a conflict that has widened amid the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran and Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The Houthis renewed hostilities against the Saudi-backed government and, in a rapid offensive in mid-September, captured Mocha and the islands and territories around Bab al-Mandeb.
The advance blocked a second major oil passage.
Since then, anti-Houthi forces have largely stabilized the front lines.
On Sunday, Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Council, announced the start of operations to retake all remaining territories from the Houthis.
Hisham al-Omeisy, senior researcher on Yemen at the European Institute of Peace, told Al Jazeera that many observers were focusing on the Red Sea “because that’s basically what attracts the attention of the international community because of the maritime routes.”
But, he added, “a turning point would be for the Yemeni government to take territory in the heart of the country, in places like Taiz, like al-Bayda, like Ibb.”
The allegations about Mocha came Monday as defense and foreign ministers from Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia met in Riyadh and agreed to activate “deterrence measures” under a mutual defense pact and quickly deploy forces to Saudi Arabia to counter attacks by Yemen’s Houthis.
“The committee agreed to activate collective deterrence measures, within the framework of the Alliance, in response to the attacks and all those responsible for them,” Khalid bin Salman, Saudi Defense Minister, said in a message on social media.
He said the alliance had “reaffirmed the solidarity and unity of our countries, in the face of heinous attacks against the Kingdom and the holy sites”.
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