Military sources told Reuters that Yemeni government forces seized a district by the Bab el-Mandeb strait as a wider offensive against the Houthis began.
Yemeni government forces seized a district beside the Bab el-Mandeb strait, military sources told Reuters on 5 October, as the internationally recognized leadership opened a broad offensive against Houthi-held territory.
Presidential Leadership Council head Rashad al-Alimi announced the campaign, described in regional reporting as Operation Dawn of Yemen, with the stated aim of retaking areas including Sanaa. A Saudi-led coalition spokesman, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, said Saudi Arabia would give operational support and had a right to defend itself from Houthi attacks.
The strait links the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and sits on a major shipping route. Control of nearby ground does not by itself reopen regional sea lanes, but it is the most concrete territorial claim of the new push.
Al Jazeera reported that government forces were aiming toward Sanaa while cautioning that defeating the Houthis would remain difficult. No independent tally of casualties from the district seizure was available in the Reuters account.
Next steps depend on whether the advance holds and whether coalition air and logistics support continues. Houthi responses were not detailed in the sources reviewed.