Houthis Chased From Aden After Saudi Arms Drop

Hadi Remnants Seize Central District of Key Port City

By Thursday evening it had appeared the Houthis had successfully taken the important southern port city of Aden, but the remnants of forces loyal to former President Hadi have struck back and retaken the center of the city today.

The gains for the Hadi remnants came after Saudi forces air-dropped new weaponry to them, and they were fairly quickly able to drive the Houthis out of the presidential palace and the central district.

The value of Aden means this is far from a resolved battle, of course, and one should expect the Houthis to rush more reinforcements into the southern city from their strongholds in the far north.

The airdrops are a change in pace for the Saudi war, which up until today has focused on airstrikes, causing substantial civilian casualties. It is unclear, however, how much of a remnant force Hadi has left, and the influx of weapons can only take them so far.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.