The intensity of the confrontations in Yemen escalated on Monday, with Saudi-backed government forces announcing field progress in Taiz Governorate and taking control of the city of Mokha and sites near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The Houthis announced new attacks on targets inside Saudi Arabia, coinciding with the Riyadh-led coalition intensifying its raids on sites belonging to the group.
The developments come in the wake of the launch by the internationally recognized Yemeni government of a large military operation under the name “Yemen Dawn.”
The head of the Presidential Command Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, said that this operation “aims to restore state institutions and areas recently controlled by the Houthis and end the Houthi coup.”
The Saudi-led coalition announced its participation in the operation by launching air strikes on Houthi positions.
His spokesman said that 100 fighter planes participated in the attacks on Monday, and that the forces targeted 324 targets that he described as “high value.”
The confrontations in Taiz Governorate and its environs resulted in the killing of more than 70 people within 24 hours, according to sources from both sides of the conflict.
News agencies affiliated with the Yemeni government quoted a military source as saying that pro-government forces, with air support from the Saudi-led coalition, took control of the coastal city of Mokha, west of Taiz, after violent battles with Houthi fighters.
The source said that the "Homeland Shield" forces, the "Giants' Brigades" and the "Tehami Resistance" forces, along with other forces loyal to the government, participated in the battles, which, according to his account, resulted in deaths and injuries among the Houthis and the capture of a number of their members.
Yemeni Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani also said that government forces took control of Dhu Bab Airport near Bab al-Mandab and isolated the remaining Houthi forces in the region, adding that government forces now effectively control the strait, despite the continuing fighting in its vicinity.
But the Houthis denied that government forces had achieved these gains. Hizam al-Assad, a member of the Ansar Allah group’s political bureau, told the BBC that reports about the advance of government forces, especially in Taiz, are “false.”
Media outlets affiliated with the group said that its forces expelled pro-government elements from the Al-Maafer and Al-Mawasit districts in Taiz Governorate.
In parallel with the ground battles, the Saudi-led coalition expanded its air and naval operations against the Houthis.
The coalition said it targeted military sites belonging to the group in the city of Hodeidah on the Red Sea coast.
He added that his naval forces destroyed weapons depots and facilities for storing explosive boats and sea mines, adding that they thwarted an attack targeting the waterways in the southern Red Sea.
Pro-government media also reported raids on Houthi command centers, camps, and weapons stores in Sanaa.
On the other hand, the Houthi-run Saba Agency said that two women were killed and seven other people, including children, were injured in raids on the capital on Monday.
On the other hand, the Houthi group announced the implementation of three military operations targeting sites inside Saudi Arabia, including King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, an Aramco refinery in Rabigh, Abha International Airport, and the Khamis Mushait military base.
There was no immediate Saudi confirmation of these attacks. The announcement came after strong explosions were heard in northern Riyadh, according to Agence France-Presse and residents in the area near King Khalid International Airport.
The Houthi group warned civil aviation companies against flying in Saudi airspace, saying that it would become a “theater of operations” for its forces, excluding the airspace of the cities of Mecca and Medina.
The escalation coincided with an emergency meeting in Riyadh of the “Mecca Defense Alliance,” which includes Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan.
The three countries said that they decided to move to the practical implementation of joint defense obligations, including the provision of agreed upon military forces and capabilities and the speed of their deployment in Saudi Arabia.
The joint statement stated that the alliance agreed to activate “collective deterrence” measures in the face of attacks targeting the Kingdom, while Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman said that the meeting affirmed the solidarity and unity of the three countries in confronting the attacks on the Kingdom and the holy places.
The alliance appointed retired Pakistani Lieutenant General, Noman Mahmood, as its first Secretary-General for a period of three years.
For his part, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States is committed to its security agreement with Saudi Arabia.
He described the ongoing operations in Yemen as a response to a previous Houthi attack, saying that the Yemeni forces are seeking to regain lands that were expelled from them, adding that Saudi Arabia “has the right to defend itself.”
