We Will Continue Siege-for-Siege and Escalation-for-Escalation Policy, Says Houthi Military Spokesman
Mian Nadeem | Published September 11, 2026
Operations will continue until aggression against Yemen ends and the country’s blockade is lifted, Brigadier General Yahya Saree says.
SANAA, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 11th Sep, 2026)
Yemen’s Houthis have announced significant progress in a major military operation against security forces supporting the exiled government in the western coastal areas, according to an Arab broadcaster.
Houthi government military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree claimed that forces under their command had conducted a large-scale operation against Saudi-backed mobile forces in Yemen’s western coastal areas.
Saree said the operation began on 3rd September with the aim of expelling Saudi-backed forces from their positions in Taiz and Hodeidah provinces, as well as ending the blockade and aggression imposed on Yemen.
The Houthi spokesman said the Saudi-backed forces had been driven out of 6 districts covering a combined area of approximately 5,400 square kilometres. He added that 7 military brigades of the Saudi-backed forces were targeted during the operation, leaving hundreds of people dead, wounded or detained.
Saree claimed that Houthi forces conducted 32 air-defence operations during the campaign, including claims that 9 aircraft were shot down.
His statement also said that Yemeni prisoners held by the Saudi-backed forces were freed during the fighting. However, the claims could not be fully independently verified, and no immediate response was issued by the Saudi-backed Yemeni forces regarding the Houthi figures.
The Houthi military spokesman reiterated that shipping remains safe for all companies in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb, but said restrictions on Saudi vessels would remain in place.
Saree said Houthi forces would continue their policy of “siege for siege and escalation for escalation” and would maintain operations until aggression against Yemen ended and the country’s blockade was lifted.
The Houthi statement came as tensions in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb once again raised concerns for global maritime trade.
Bab el-Mandeb is considered one of the world’s most important maritime routes, linking the Red Sea, the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean.
During the ongoing conflict in Yemen, attacks by the Houthis on commercial vessels have prompted several major shipping companies to avoid the route and send their ships on longer routes around Africa.
The latest Houthi claim is significant because the group is declaring general shipping in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb safe while explicitly exempting Saudi vessels from its restrictions.
