Pro-Saudi Forces Launch Operation Against Houthis in Shabwah

Yemen’s war in 2021 centered highly around Maarib Province. Early indications are that 2022 is going to at least in part focus on the Shabwah Province, just south of Maarib.

Shabwah, like Maarib, is being presented as “oil rich.” Though Maarib had some oil, Shabwah’s involvement in the trade is mostly as a port of export, and being this is impoverished Yemen, it is very limited indeed.

Pro-Saudi forces have announced a new “large-scale military offensive” against the Houthis in Shabwah. The Houthis have taken territory there recently, and that centers on controlling supply lines into Maarib.

The bigger focus in Shabwah will almost certainly be pro-Saudi versus pro-UAE fighters. The pro-UAE forces seized the province over the past week, and replaced the governor. That will almost certainly be the battle going forward.