Residents of the kidnapped Yemeni capital, Sanaa, are awaiting the outcome of the military operation launched by the Yemeni government under the name “Yemen Dawn,” amid hopes that it will open the way to ending the years of coup and war, restoring state institutions, and returning public life to a more stable path.
After about 12 years since the Iranian-backed Houthi group took control of the Yemeni capital, residents say that talking about the operation has brought back to many of them long-lost feelings of hope, and that what they are waiting for “is not limited to a military transformation, but is related to the return of the state, the law, freedoms, and improved services,” and an end to what they describe as “years of fear, levies, and security restrictions.”
Residents who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat say that the capital “seems burdened by a long legacy of war, division, and deteriorating living conditions,” and that many citizens are now “looking at any potential change as an opportunity to get out of the reality that the group has imposed on the city since it took control of it.”
Abdullah, a government employee from Sanaa, confirms that talk about Operation “Yemen Dawn” has brought back some hope to many citizens, explaining that what the population wants is “a state that protects them and provides them with security and services, not more repression and confiscation of freedoms.”
He adds that fear of the consequences of political positions has led many citizens to avoid discussion of public affairs, even within their homes. “There are many things that people talk about only in whispers,” he says. The citizen wants to speak freely, but he is afraid of paying the price for his words.”
In the same context, an activist from the suburbs of Sanaa says that the past years “have consumed the lives of Yemenis,” noting that families have become preoccupied with securing food, medicine, and rent, in light of the continuing crises. She adds: “We are not looking for war; We are looking for the end of the war and the coup. We want the state to return and live like other people.”
As for “Salah,” who is from Ibb Governorate and works as a vegetable seller in Sana’a, he says that citizens can no longer tolerate more years of fear, stressing that their basic demand is the presence of institutions and a law that protects everyone. He adds: “We want to wake up one day and not be afraid of collection campaigns, blackmail at checkpoints, or the arrest of a family member because of his opinion.”
On Monday, the head of the Yemeni Presidential Command Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, announced the launch of the military operation “Yemen’s Dawn,” saying that it aims to restore state institutions, liberate the capital, Sana’a, and end the coup of the Iran-backed Houthi group.
Yemen entered a new phase after the Yemeni leadership placed the battle within the framework of “restoring the state and ending the coup,” coinciding with the launch of the “Yemen Dawn” operation, whose fronts expanded from the western coast and Bab al-Mandab to Taiz, Ma’rib, Al-Jawf, and Midi, while Sana’a became among the declared goals of the operation.
Regarding the implications of describing the battle as fateful and restoring the state, and the objectives of Operation “Yemen Dawn,” the Yemeni Minister of Information, Muammar Al-Eryani, said in an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat that the speech of the Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi, reflects complete clarity in the political and military goal of this stage. He added: "We are not talking about a limited battle to achieve temporary field gains, but rather about a path aimed at restoring state institutions, its authority and sovereignty over the entire national territory, and ending the situation imposed by the Houthi coup."
