Yemen forces say Houthis mobilized over 76,000 fighters in west coast battles

Yemen's government-aligned forces said Monday that the Houthi group mobilized over 76,000 personnel during recent battles along the western coast, claiming that the operations involved "Iranian and Lebanese experts" to take control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

In a statement on the US social media platform X, the spokesperson for the government-backed National Resistance Forces, Major General Sadiq Dwaid, said the operations had been "planned and prepared months in advance," adding that they were executed "under the direct orders of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps with Iranian and Lebanese experts participating in their management."

The National Resistance Forces defended a 170-kilometer (105-mile) front while also protecting beaches and islands, noting that between Aug. 9 and Sept. 9, 130 ballistic missiles, 145 suicide drones and 15 explosive-laden boats were launched.

Dwaid said these attacks included 23 missiles and 18 drones targeting positions held by Lieutenant General Tariq Saleh, the force's commander and deputy chairman of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council.

Yemen had been under a relative lull since April 2022 after nearly 12 years of war between government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition and the Iranian-backed Houthis, who seized control of the capital, Sanaa, and large parts of the country in 2014.

Since late 2023, after the Gaza war began, the Houthis have become increasingly involved in regional hostilities, launching attacks on Israel and commercial shipping in the Red Sea, while recent renewed fighting has raised fears of a return to full-scale conflict in Yemen.