Analysis of Yemen Conflict Dynamics

Joining me now from Sana'a is Hussein al-Bukhaiti,

a writer and political researcher. Welcome.

What if all the group's gains

on the ground become a gateway

to widening the war and, I mean,

escalating without limits? Is the group

ready for an open-ended war?

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Yes, certainly. Since Saudi Arabia violated

the truce and targeted Sana'a Airport, Ansar Allah, or the Yemeni army,

began broader operations, the first of which was closing the Red Sea to

Saudi ships and targeting Saudi oil tankers to impose a blockade

on them. This also coincided with Saudi Arabia's attempt

to mobilize

the internal fronts, in Mokha, for example, through artillery attacks

and strikes by what is called drone aircraft that Saudi Arabia provided

or supplied to its affiliated forces in Mokha.

This led them to open a front, and they are the ones who opened the

gates of hell upon themselves, in fact. And all those were liberated

The areas, all the way to the liberation yesterday of the city of Turbah

It is the second-largest city in Saudi Province.

This means the Yemeni army here in Sana'a is ready and prepared

for this battle after years, but it, uh, knows the Yemenis

and especially our leadership here in Sana'a do not violate

the truce. That is why they waited until the enemy did so,

the Saudis. The results were certainly catastrophic for the forces

affiliated with it and also for Saudi Arabia, which is now unable to

export any of its oil. Therefore, this proves they are ready for any

battle, no matter how much it expands or how large it becomes. They have

the ability to expand it as well. They have a large target bank, uh,

that can destroy the Saudi economy entirely within days.

Mm. But the government forces, for their part, are retaking

some areas

and announcing it. They have indeed begun expanding

their, uh, offensive. Uh, but they say the door to

negotiations has closed for the Ansar Allah group

the Houthis. Is the door, uh, the door to negotiations

still open? And, uh, can a settlement

be accepted now?

Uh, certainly, dear sister, what the so-called legitimate

government said, that they had retaken

areas and were advancing, is the same

lies they told when the entire western coast was taken and liberated

within two hours. I challenge them to name an area

that was, uh, retaken. Taiz was approximately

seventy percent or more in the hands of forces affiliated with Saudi Arabia, seventy

percent, while thirty percent or 25 percent was under the control of Sanaa forces.

But now, ninety percent of all Taiz Governorate is under

the control of the Yemeni army in Sanaa, and only approximately

ten percent remains. Regarding the door to negotiations, dear sister, the door to negotiations

has been closed.

Sanaa was clear on this, that it would not accept any,

uh, that it would not, not, not halt its operations either internally or

Either abroad against Saudi Arabia, unless Saudi Arabia completely ceases

its military operations in Yemen and withdraws from Yemen and halts any

future operations, and, I mean, provides full compensation for what was destroyed in Yemen

and does not pay any, uh, support or provide

any support to any of its affiliated forces inside Yemen.

This was clear in the recent speeches of Sayyid Abdul-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi, the leader

of the Ansar Allah group. Meaning that Yemen, I mean, has,

uh, since 2022, the truce

That ill-ill-ill-fated one, as we all called it in Sanaa, because it only protected Saudi Arabia

from Yemeni attacks, uh,

Yemeni attacks. But Saudi Arabia continued imposing the blockade,

blocking ships from reaching, reaching the po-po-port of Al-Hudaydah,

meaning taking all the Yemeni people's resources from oil and gas revenues

and using them to build its base— Saudi military bases

spread across Yemen and equipping the forces there and, I mean,

establishing what are called the National Shield Forces and—I mean, establishing armies

New. That is, Saudi Arabia was using the truce to prepare

for a bigger battle.

But Yemen was the one that, uh, held the reins of the initiative, and it was the one that

Wait. And Saudi Arabia, and its targeting of Sana'a Airport, was

the straw that

uh, broke the Saudi camel's back. And I just want to add, my dear sister, that

Al-Alimi's statements yesterday are, I mean, laughable

when he says that the battle began to liberate Yemen.

I mean, does it make sense that when you are at war and during

a war, you declare war and announce the start of a battle, what have we been doing since

2015? But I think, my dear sister, that what Al-Alimi is suffering from, and what

those staying in Riyadh hotels are suffering from,

may be the name of a new disease, Riyadh syndrome, meaning they have not— I mean,

they are detached from reality

and they have no presence in reality and no presence

on the ground. Therefore, they think that statements are, I mean, as if they were from

the

hotel reception. They are merely statements, WhatsApp groups

and announcements. But those who defend the land, my dear sister, are those who

takes the reins

of the initiative. And I believe there are also reports from Taiz—

that there are civilians there too, Mr. al-Bukhaiti.

There are accusations against the group

of committing widespread violations against civilians,

including forced displacement, starvation, and the recruitment of

children. Uh,

what is your comment on this matter?

Uh, my sister, my dear sister, my dear sister, these are lies.

Whoever endangers civilians is whoever— whoever built

four airports and four military bases just in the Mokha area

and Dhubab. And whoever endangers civilians is whoever uses

al-Qaeda

and also uses, uh,

ISIS in its fighting. The American Associated Press published

a report in 2018 that the UAE and Saudi Arabia were recruiting

al-Qaeda and ISIS to fight, especially in areas like Taiz.

The BBC also published a filmed report years ago.

The BBC correspondent was asking, “Who are these fighters

there?” She was in the Taiz area or areas under coalition control.

The Saudi aggression. They said they were al-Qaeda fighters.

I asked, "Do they fight alongside you?" They said yes, of course, they fight alongside us.

And who, my dear sister, violates even prisoners' rights?

We noticed the clips that recently spread, which

show the torture and killing of prisoners of the Yemeni army in

Sana'a, while we note that Sana'a's forces always try to treat

those prisoners gently. Therefore, the criminal, dear sister, is the one who started the war

against Yemen in 2015. He is the one who launched 300,000

airstrikes on Yemen. He is the one who killed 20,000 Yemeni civilians

through d-d-direct targeting, direct bombing, and that—

and the blockade that led to the deaths of nearly 400,000 Yemeni civilians from

preventable diseases like cholera and malaria and the destruction of infrastructure

and famine. This is who is responsible. Therefore, Saudi Arabia is responsible, and it is, it is,

it is, it is who will receive the biggest blow from Yemen and they will pay

dearly.

Thank you from Sana'a. Uh, writer and political researcher Hussein

Al-Bukhaiti.