Yemeni forces launch offensive to retake Houthi-held al-Waziiya in Taiz

The mountainous district is key to control of Mocha, the Red Sea port the Houthis seized last month.

Forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government have launched an operation to capture a strategic mountainous district from the Houthis as part of a wider push to retake the Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

The operation is part of the “Dawn of Yemen” offensive that was announced on Sunday by Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, to retake all remaining Houthi-held territory, including the capital, Sanaa, which the Iran-backed group has controlled since 2014.

“The armed forces have secured strategic hills overlooking the al-Mansoura area, amidst a mass retreat by the Houthi militia,” it said, citing a military source.

The mountainous district is located west of Taiz, east of the Red Sea port of Mocha. The Houthis had seized Mocha and areas around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait – a strategic maritime corridor – in a lightning offensive last month.

“If the Yemeni government is serious about taking over the city of Mocha, they cannot do so unless they take over the region in the district of al-Waziiya,” he added.

The fighting came as the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis towards the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait.

“The coalition continues to neutralise the threat posed by ballistic and surface-to-surface missiles and to destroy their launch sources,” he added.

The attacks caused injuries of “varying severity” and material damage, and the injured have been taken to hospital, the authority said.

The Saudi-led coalition, meanwhile, has confirmed its participation in the Yemeni government offensive to retake all Houthi-held territory, saying 100 of its fighter jets are providing air support.