ADEN, Yemen, Nov. 15– Yemen’s government-aligned southern forces announced Sunday their withdrawal from positions near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait to reinforce defenses around the southern port city of Aden, as advancing Houthi fighters put mounting pressure on government-held territory.
In a statement on social media platform X, the Southern Armed Forces said they were redeploying troops from Dhubab Airport and the Bab al-Mandab area in western Taiz province, citing battlefield challenges and growing threats to Aden and neighboring provinces.
The forces described the move as a necessary military adjustment to strengthen defensive lines and reorganize troop deployments, insisting that their campaign against the Houthis would continue “until the insurgency is ended.”
A military source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the redeployment was a timely decision dictated by battlefield priorities, particularly the need to protect Aden and neighboring Lahj province.
The source said the move was also intended to prevent Houthi fighters from outflanking government positions or disrupting troop movements, as intensified fighting placed increasing pressure on defensive lines across southern Yemen.
The withdrawal comes after Houthi fighters seized several strategic positions in Lahj, including areas overlooking key routes toward Aden and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, dealing fresh setbacks to a Saudi-led coalition-backed offensive launched in October to regain territory from the group.
The latest battlefield shifts have raised concerns over the control of Bab al-Mandab, a vital maritime chokepoint connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and carrying international trade between Asia and Europe through the Suez Canal, amid wider regional tensions and repeated Houthi attacks on Saudi oil and military facilities.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of the country’s north, prompting Saudi-led military intervention in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.
Renewed hostilities have further complicated efforts to end the prolonged war and deepened the country’s humanitarian crisis. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
