Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have agreed on the need for a ground operation against the Houthi Ansar Allah movement in Yemen. This statement was made by sources of Qatari publications. According to them, the ground campaign, which has been under consideration by the administration of US President Donald Trump in recent weeks, will be conducted mainly by the forces of the central government of Yemen. The big question remains whether the countries of the Persian Gulf will help in its implementation.
The fact that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates approved the ground operation was reported by the Al-Arabi al-Jadid newspaper. According to the Qatar-based portal, discussions about launching a full-scale military campaign are being conducted by the United States, Great Britain and the countries of the region.
Its main force, according to the interlocutors of Al-Arabi al-Jadid, should be the troops of the internationally recognized government of Yemen, which has traditionally relied on the help of Saudi Arabia. It is it that seeks to organize a massive strike against its opponents and in recent weeks has been involved in intensive consultations with the Pentagon on the parameters and stages of the upcoming operation.
On March 15, the Trump administration launched a campaign of massive aerial and naval bombardments of northern Yemen. Observers say that it turned out to be more ambitious in its scope than the operation undertaken a year earlier by former President Joseph Biden. Nevertheless, these efforts are not yet enough to destroy Ansar Allah. This is due to the geography of Yemen and the difficult mountainous terrain of the territories where the Houthis are hiding. The task is further complicated by the fact that Ansar Allah members are deploying their missile launch sites and combat drones in areas where civilians live compactly. In this regard, according to reports from the American and Arab media, the White House began to consider a land invasion.
According to Bloomberg, one of the reasons for the ground operation was the information that the Houthis are trying to strengthen their positions on another continent, in Africa, through cooperation with the Somali group Al–Shabab (recognized as terrorist in Russia and banned), as well as transfer their weapons to the Horn of Africa. Such contacts were reported last year, however, apparently, the United States has new information. The other day, Trump wrote on his social media: “We will support the Somali people, who should not allow the Houthis to invade (and they are trying to do this!),” At the same time, the head of the White House stressed that “it is time for the terrorists to hide,” but this “will not bring them any benefit.”
According to Bloomberg, one of the scenarios that the United States and its allies have been working on these weeks involves a coordinated offensive with the United States against Ansar Allah from several fronts in order to oust the Houthis from the port of Hodeidah, a strategically important point that in many ways gives the Yemeni rebels the opportunity to block international shipping. The last attempt at a land offensive on Hodeidah was made by the central Government of Yemen seven years ago, but was unsuccessful due to the fact that the harsh siege of the city caused extreme concern to the international community. This, in turn, led to pressure on Saudi Arabia as a key sponsor of the offensive.
Both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi remain concerned that they may have to take on any military consequences of a new round of armed escalation around Yemen. However, in the Arabian capitals, they believe that now is the right time to organize a ground operation against the Houthis, regional sources told Bloomberg. According to them, Saudi Arabia and the UAE hope that Trump’s decisiveness towards Iran and its “proxy forces” will give a chance to change the security equation in Yemen and clean up its military and political landscape from Ansar Allah. This forces them to support the very concept of a military campaign.
Publicly, the countries deny this. UAE and Saudi Arabian officials, in a conversation with Reuters, rejected reports of involvement in negotiations on a ground operation.
In the past, both Arab powers have failed to destroy the Houthi movement as part of their own military efforts in Yemen. Moreover, against the background of the confrontation, the critical infrastructure of Saudi Arabia and the UAE was systematically targeted by combined attacks from Ansar Allah, which was one of the factors that forced the Arabian capitals to discuss a ceasefire agreement with the Houthis two years ago. The big question remains whether Riyadh and Abu Dhabi will now provide active assistance in launching attacks on Ansar Allah. It should be borne in mind that recently both capitals want to distance themselves from any military adventures of their American partners.
Kirill Semenov, an expert at the Russian International Affairs Council, told NG that the tribal formations of the Marib province, which formally belong to the jurisdiction of the internationally recognized government of the country, could become the striking force of a potential land offensive in Yemen. However, much will depend on the alignment of forces agreed with the United States “on the ground,” the expert says. The situation will be much more complicated with the western coast of Yemen, which requires significant military resources in terms of land onslaught, the source concluded.
