Pro-Saudi Yemen Forces, Houthis, Stalemated Near Sanaa

Infighting Further South Weakens the Hadi Government

Yemeni forces loyal to the Saudi Arabia-backed Hadi government are, if on top of the right mountain and at the right time of day, within visual range of the outskirts of the capital city of Sanaa. It may be as close as they ever get.

The same closeness, after all, has been true for literally weeks on end, and with a mountain range in the way, 25 miles or so isn’t exactly walking distance. This is doubly true because gains in the area have long since stopped.

Hadi forces have been on the offensive for most of the war, but over the past week saw their own de facto capital city, Aden, getting completely routed by a whole different faction of southern secessionists, which likely changes their priority from offensive to defensive.

Saudi officials are trying to resolve the differences between Hadi’s allies and the secessionists, but either way they probably aren’t going to be in a position to commit a bunch of additional troops to attacking northern Yemen, meaning the war is as stalemated as ever.

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.