ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- More than two weeks after the Yemeni government launched a major offensive against the Houthi group, front lines have changed little despite intensified fighting and Saudi-led air support, a military source said Tuesday.
A military source with the Southern Giants Brigades told Xinhua that government forces, supported by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, had made "little headway across several fronts" and had yet to achieve a major territorial breakthrough.
"The fighting is continuing, but significant gains have been limited to advances by our forces near Bab al-Mandab," a strategic strait as the southern gate of the Red Sea, said the source, who requested anonymity.
Dubbed "Dawn of Yemen," the offensive was announced in Riyadh on Oct. 5 by Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council. The operation aims to retake territory lost to the Houthis and ultimately advance toward their stronghold in the capital, Sanaa.
Since then, government forces have intensified operations on several fronts, particularly toward the strategic strait, backed by heavy Saudi-led coalition airstrikes. Fighting and casualties have continued on both sides.
The military source attributed "the slow progress" to entrenched Houthi defenses, extensive use of missiles and drones, and difficulties coordinating government-aligned forces. "Breaking through these defenses requires time and better coordination," he said.
He also cited the absence of the United Arab Emirates as a factor complicating the campaign. The UAE, a key member of the Saudi-led coalition, had played a major role in training and supporting anti-Houthi forces that retook Bab al-Mandab in 2015 and Mocha in 2017, helping secure a strategic stretch of Yemen's Red Sea coast.
The Yemeni source said the UAE's complete military withdrawal from Yemen earlier this year had left "a significant gap" in operational support. "The balance on the ground has changed," he said.
The Houthis captured Mocha on Sept. 10 and Mayyun Island -- at the heart of the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait -- a day later. Both remain under Houthi control, despite repeated government counteroffensives aimed at retaking the key Red Sea shipping corridor.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of the country's north. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government. ■
