Yemen: Houthis Advance to Within 80 Kilometres of Aden, Threatening Main Taiz Road and Bab el-Mandeb Flank
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have advanced to within 80 kilometres (50 miles) of Aden, the main stronghold and temporary capital of the country's internationally recognised government, four military sources said on November 2, bringing the group closer to Aden than at any point since the early months of the war in 2015, when they briefly entered the city before being driven out. Fighting was underway on Monday at a military camp at the entrance to Tur al-Bahah district, one of the main approaches to Aden. The Houthis launched their assault on Al-Maqatirah three days ago and have since taken the whole district, the sources said; Houthi official Hamid Rizq posted a video, which could not immediately be verified, of what he said were the group's fighters entering Souq al-Rabouh in Maqatirah district.
The push threatens strategic positions along the main road linking Aden with the besieged city of Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, which has been encircled since early October when the Houthis cut its main road south to Aden. The broader offensive began in September, when the Houthis swept down Yemen's Red Sea coast and seized territory along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world's most important shipping lanes and a key route for Saudi oil exports to Asia; the advance gives the Houthis a chance to outflank government forces along the mountain range overlooking the strait.
Houthi attacks on Aden have also intensified in recent weeks: the group struck Aden airport on Wednesday after warning people to evacuate, and the presidential palace was hit in October. The Houthis said on November 2 they had launched drones towards Saudi Arabia's Dammam airport, an early-warning radar in Jizan and a military transport aircraft at Jizan airport, with no immediate Saudi confirmation. The violence has shattered a 2022 UN-brokered truce that had largely halted major attacks in the war that began in 2014.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 照片：也门亚丁港（自国际空间站拍摄），NASA 摄，Wikimedia Commons，公共领域 / Photo: The Port of Aden, Yemen, photographed from the International Space Station, by NASA, Wikimedia Commons, public domain
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