Yemen / Anadolu

Tension continues in Yemen in recent days, with escalating political and military moves between the internationally recognized government and the Houthi group, amid a crisis triggered by an Iranian flight to Sanaa airport and an exchange of threats between the Houthis and the Coalition to Support Legitimacy.

While the Houthi group intensified its armed mobilizations in several governorates, the Yemeni leadership and political forces called for unifying ranks in preparation for what they described as a 'battle to liberate the country,' coinciding with field movements on multiple fronts.

Yemen has witnessed relative calm on most fronts since April 2022, despite intermittent clashes between government forces and the Houthis, without reaching a comprehensive political agreement to end the conflict, at a time when recent developments indicate an unprecedented escalation in tension between the two sides in years.

— Expanded meeting discusses Houthi escalation

In this context, Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi held a meeting on Wednesday in the Saudi capital Riyadh, which included Speaker of Parliament Sultan al-Barakani, Speaker of the Shura Council Ahmed Obaid bin Dagher, and Chairman of the Consultation and Reconciliation Authority Mohammed al-Ghaithi.

The official Yemeni news agency (Saba) reported that the meeting was dedicated to discussing national developments, foremost of which it described as the 'new escalation of the Houthi militias,' including 'violations and breaches of Yemeni sovereignty, the latest of which was the operation of an aircraft belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to Sanaa airport, in flagrant defiance of Security Council resolutions and the international sanctions regime.'

Al-Alimi stressed that the current stage 'requires the highest levels of national alignment, unity of position and message.'

He emphasized that protecting the state is 'a collective responsibility shared by all institutions under the constitution and law.'

— Calls to unify ranks

For their part, the speakers of the House of Representatives, the Shura Council, and the Consultation and Reconciliation Authority called on various national forces to rally around the state project and unify ranks in support of the 'battle of liberation,' and to end the coup and the humanitarian suffering they said the Houthi group has caused.

They affirmed their support for the Presidential Leadership Council and the government in all measures and decisions aimed at protecting national sovereignty, strengthening the internal front, and confronting the Houthi escalation backed by Iran.

They also stressed the importance of unifying the national discourse, supporting the armed forces and security agencies, and backing diplomatic efforts to mobilize a firmer international stance towards Houthi violations.

— Downing of Houthi drone in Al-Jawf

On the ground, the official Yemen TV reported that tribal fighters shot down a Houthi drone while it was flying over 'Mataareh al-Karama' (armed tribal gatherings) in Al-Jawf governorate in northern Yemen.

It added that the drone was on a reconnaissance mission before tribesmen spotted it and shot it down with gunfire.

Houthis continue mobilization

In contrast, the Houthi-affiliated Saba news agency reported that several governorates witnessed on Wednesday armed mobilizations and rallies, during which participants declared 'general mobilization' and readiness to wage what they called the 'battle of national independence and liberation from hegemony and subordination.'

These events included the governorates of Saada and Hajjah (northwest), Al-Jawf and Dhamar (north), and Marib (central).

Meanwhile, the Al-Husayniya area in the Beit al-Faqih district of Hodeidah governorate witnessed an armed tribal gathering of the Zaraniq tribes and residents of the southern districts on the western coast, during which participants declared general mobilization and readiness to wage the 'battle to break the siege and end the aggression.'

The agency said the event was attended by the Minister of Transport and Public Works in the unrecognized Houthi government, Mohammed Qahim, the Houthi-appointed governor of Hodeidah, Abdullah Atefi, and the deputy governor, Mutahar al-Hadi.

It added that participants declared alert and readiness, and called for heading to the battlefronts in response to the directives of the group's leader. They also raised their weapons during the gatherings, considering that the use of force is the way to restore what they described as the rights of the Yemeni people.

— Background of the escalation

This escalation comes after a crisis triggered by the Houthi group's announcement of 'confronting' Saudi warplanes, which it said attempted to prevent an Iranian civilian aircraft from landing at Sanaa airport.

Following that, the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen vowed to respond 'with all firmness and unprecedented force' to any attempts to target Saudi Arabia or violate Yemen's sovereignty, after the Houthi group threatened to target airports and vital facilities in the kingdom.

The Iranian flight is the first announced flight to arrive at Sanaa airport in about 10 years, according to Yemeni media, while no official statement was issued from Tehran regarding it.

Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said that the Houthi threats against Saudi Arabia 'are nothing more than an attempt to divert attention from their grave violations against the Yemeni people,' accusing the group of seeking to export its internal crises.

The Yemen war broke out in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa, before the battles expanded in early 2015 with the intervention of the Saudi-led Arab coalition in support of the government, at its request.

The war has damaged most sectors in Yemen and caused one of the most catastrophic humanitarian crises in the world, amid ongoing UN efforts to push for a peace process in the country.