Yemeni government forces, including the Southern Giants Brigades and the Nation’s Shield Forces, launched an offensive against the Houthis near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait on October 5. The operation followed Presidential Leadership Council chairman Rashad al-Alimi’s pledge to recover Houthi-held territory, including Sanaa and the Red Sea coastline seized during a September advance.
They also claimed control of Mocha and the strait, although the Houthis denied that Mocha had fallen.
The gains mark one of the most significant anti-Houthi advances in years and brought rival factions together after Saudi-aligned government forces defeated the United Arab Emirates-backed Southern Transitional Council in January. The Giants Brigades, formed largely from Salafi fighters who defended Aden in 2015, previously seized parts of the western coast in 2017 before the advance stopped near Hodeidah under the 2018 Stockholm Agreement. In 2022, they captured three districts in Shabwa and pushed toward Marib.
The brigade is commanded by Abd al-Rahman Abu Zaraa al-Muharrami, who joined the eight-member Presidential Leadership Council in April 2022. Although the force operates alongside government units, its links to the southern independence movement remain visible: some fighters have raised the former South Yemen flag, while Southern Transitional Council representatives describe the Bab al-Mandeb area as part of the territory they seek to restore. The brigade’s participation therefore strengthens the offensive while leaving unresolved whether its longer-term allegiance is to Yemen’s unity, southern autonomy or both.
The fighting has also widened the regional stakes.