Houthis Lose South Yemen City to Secessionist Militia

Militia Retakes City After Months of Fighting

In a move some officials are trying to present as the first “serious” blow to the Shi’ite Houthis’ gains across the nation, the southern Yemeni city of Dalea has fallen to a local militia long associated with the South Yemen secessionist movement.

Reports are that they’ve been fighting for the city for months, before the militia finally pushed in today, seizing the 33rd Armored Brigade base in the city’s center, and killing seven Houthi fighters.

Interesting, there seems to be an effort to claim credit for the city’s capture on behalf of the Saudi war effort, noting Saudi warplanes have pounded the city and surrounding area for months.

Yet again, the loss was not the gain of the pro-Saudi faction, but rather of a secessionist movement, suggesting the war effort is increasingly off the rails, and that the war aims more at damaging the Houthis than it does seriously at propping up the former Hadi government or anyone else.

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.