The Islamic movement Ansar Allah—also known by the surname of its leaders’ family, the Houthis—which is aligned with Iran, is continuing its advance and has now reached a point just 80 kilometers from Aden, the stronghold and temporary capital where the internationally recognised government has relocated its headquarters. Four sources in the government army told Reuters on Monday.

The advance has brought Ansar Allah closer to Aden than at any time since the first months of the war in 2015, when the rebels entered the city before being driven back.

The new offensive has opened up another volatile front in the wider war in the Middle East, which began with the US and Israeli attack on Iran on January 28, drawing both Ansar Allah and Saudi Arabia more deeply into the regional conflict.

The rebels have stepped up their attacks against Saudi Arabia, which supports the internationally recognised government. In turn, the military coalition led by Riyadh has intensified its airstrikes against Ansar Allah positions in Yemen.

The renewed fighting has shattered the UN-brokered ceasefire of 2022, which had effectively brought hostilities in the war to a halt. The conflict had escalated into a full-scale war in 2014, when Ansar Allah drove the government out of the capital, Sanaa, and seized control of the city.

Advance threatens strategic road route

The rebels’ advance threatens strategic positions along the main road linking Aden with the besieged city of Taiz, a vital artery for southwestern Yemen.

It follows a broad offensive that began in September, when Ansar Allah fighters swept through coastal areas along the Red Sea and seized territory along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s most important maritime routes and a crucial passage for Saudi crude oil exports to Asia.

According to Reuters’ sources in the army, this advance gives Ansar Allah’s rebels an opportunity to outflank government troops along the mountain range overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Government forces had claimed to have driven the rebels out of the area just a few weeks earlier.

Ansar Allah’s attacks on Aden, which became the temporary capital and seat of the internationally recognised government in 2015, have also intensified in recent weeks. The rebels struck Aden airport last Wednesday after warning people to evacuate it immediately. A presidential palace was also targeted in an attack by the rebels in October.

Fighting continues

Fighting between Ansar Allah rebels and forces loyal to the government was still underway on Monday at a military camp at the entrance to the Tur al-Baha district, one of the main gateways to Aden. The camp is approximately 50 kilometres from the provincial capital of Lahij and 80 kilometres from Aden.

Ansar Allah launched its assault on government positions in Al Maqatirah three days ago and has now captured the entire district, according to Reuters’ sources. The mountainous area overlooks the road connecting Taiz with Aden. The rebels forced government troops to regroup and retreat toward Tur al-Baha, the sources said.

The information minister of Yemen’s internationally recognised government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ansar Allah official Hamid Rizq uploaded a video to a social media platform—which Reuters stressed it had been unable to independently verify immediately—showing what he described as rebels entering Souq al-Rabou, in the Maqatirah district.

The road is the last remaining link between areas controlled by forces loyal to the internationally recognised government and Taiz.

Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, has remained surrounded since early October, when Ansar Allah fighters cut off the southern road connecting it to Aden. The siege has forced more than 100,000 people from their homes and caused widespread shortages of food, fuel and medicine.