The battles on the Yemeni west coast and west of Taiz entered a new phase on Thursday, with government forces rearranging their deployment south of the city of Mokha, and forming an alternative command center in the Dhubab district towards Bab al-Mandab, after breakthroughs made by the Houthi group in a number of fighting axes during the past hours.
The move came after days of violent battles on the West Coast fronts, during which the Houthi forces were able to advance in Al-Waziyah and Mawza and control important sites and camps, coinciding with the withdrawal of government forces from sites in Hays and Al-Khawkhah, while the group continued to send large human reinforcements to the front lines, benefiting from its extensive use of missiles, drones and heavy weapons.
Vice Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Command Council, Commander of the National Resistance, Lieutenant General Tariq Saleh, directed the armed forces on the West Coast to rearrange their ranks, in a move that government forces said aimed to regroup units, strengthen command and control, and prepare for the next phase of the confrontation.
Tariq Saleh said, according to the military media of the National Resistance, that the armed forces on the West Coast, which includes the National Resistance, the Giants Brigades, and the National Shield, along with the Taiz Axis units west of the governorate, “paid a great price, martyrs and wounded, over the past days as they faced the Houthi attack.”
He added that the forces faced an attack “planned by Iran, supported by it, and in which its various tools participated,” pointing to the command’s directive “to form an alternative command center in a safe place to reassemble the forces in consultation with the leadership of the Arab coalition and the leadership council.”
South Mokha Command Center
The military media of the National Resistance announced the formation of a new command center in the Dhubab area, south of Mokha, in the direction of Bab al-Mandab, after the battles moved in recent hours to locations closer to the city of Mokha.
On Wednesday, the Houthi forces took control of Al-Waziyah, southwest of Taiz, and Mawza, east of Al-Mokha, in addition to the Khalid bin Al-Walid camp located within the scope of the Mawza District, following violent battles with government forces.
The forces affiliated with the National Resistance and other formations also withdrew from sites in the Hais District, north of Mokha, and from Al-Khawkhah, located south of Hais, while the Houthi forces continued to advance through the northern and eastern axes leading to Mokha.
Military media sources reported that the Houthis stormed several areas within the Al Mokha District, and took control of Jabal al-Nar camp, which housed the headquarters of the military forces on the west coast, while Zuqar Island was bombed with two ballistic missiles, in the context of an escalation that included large areas of the coast and the Red Sea.
In parallel, air strikes targeted Houthi sites in Al-Tuhayta, Al-Saleef, and Kamaran Island in Hodeidah Governorate, at a time when air operations continue to weaken the group’s firepower and cut off its supply lines.
The developments come a week after a massive Houthi attack that began on the axes of western Taiz and southern Hodeidah, during which the group was able to mobilize large numbers of fighters and open more than one axis at a time, with extensive use of missiles, drones, and artillery shelling to cover its ground movements.
Despite the large human losses incurred by the Houthi forces during the past days, the group continued to send new reinforcements to the fronts, in an attempt to benefit from simultaneous pressure on more than one axis, confuse government forces, and exhaust their reserves.
Battle of Taiz and Mokha
The Houthi advance in Al-Waziyah and Mawza is of particular importance to the battle around Mokha. The continued progress from these axes opens the way for pressure on the roads linking Taiz to the western coast, and places government forces before the need to reorganize their defensive lines before the fighting moves to the city’s vicinity.
In Taiz, a member of the Presidential Command Council, Lieutenant General Mahmoud Al-Subaihi, inspected the Jabal Habashi and Al-Kadha fronts, and met with officers and soldiers on the front lines, stressing that the political and military leadership stands with the forces stationed in the face of the Houthi attack.
Al-Subaihi stressed strengthening the fronts, raising the level of military and operational coordination, and taking various possibilities into account when planning operations, in addition to providing the forces with human and logistical capabilities and maintaining the highest levels of readiness and vigilance.
Al-Subaihi was accompanied on his tour by the Governor of Taiz, Nabil Shamsan, a member of the Supreme Military Committee, Major General Youssef Al-Sharaji, the commander of the Taiz axis, Major General Khaled Fadel, and the commander of the Tur Al-Baha axis, Major General Abu Bakr Al-Jabouli. The visit included the cities of Taiz and Al-Turbah, in addition to inspecting the conditions of the forces, citizens, and displaced people.
Al-Subaihi listened to a presentation on field developments and mechanisms for enhancing coordination between the National Resistance and the Taiz axis, while Governor Shamsan said that the Houthis’ focus on Taiz is linked, according to his assessment, to seeking to reach Bab al-Mandab and threatening international navigation.
Shamsan said that the governorate is “ready for a general mobilization and to supply the fronts with thousands of fighters,” referring to the readiness of local forces to strengthen the front lines as Houthi pressure continues.
The redeployment of government forces south of Mokha poses a decisive test in the coming hours. The repositioning could allow the establishment of more cohesive defense lines around Mokha and Bab al-Mandab, especially if it is accompanied by regrouping units and cutting off Houthi supply routes.
On the other hand, the Houthi forces’ push over wider distances may put their advanced units in front of longer supply lines and are more vulnerable to air targeting and ambushes, which may give government forces an opportunity to regain the initiative and launch a counterattack after establishing their new positions.
