Yemeni resistance force Ansar Allah took control of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab Strait on September 11, completing the eight-day lightning offensive to seize power from the Saudi-backed Yemeni sell-out government across the west coast.
The Ansar Allah-led Yemeni Armed Forces initiated their military operation on September 3, expelling Saudi-backed forces from six districts along the Red Sea coast, covering an area of 2,080 square miles and annihilating, capturing, and wounding hundreds of Saudi-backed forces.
Applying the equation of “siege for siege,” the Yemeni Armed Forces since July have enforced a blockade against Saudi vessels in the Bab al-Mandab Strait until the Saudi aggression and blockade against Yemen are stopped. The Bab al-Mandab, which acted as Saudi Arabia’s alternative to the Strait of Hormuz during Iran’s ongoing blockade, saw 13% of global seaborne crude oil trade in 2023, according to the United Nations.
Multiple drones struck the East–West Crude Oil Pipeline in Saudi Arabia, which has been used to bypass Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The pipeline has been shut down and there is no clear timeline for repairs. The perpetrator of the strike is unconfirmed.
The Yemeni Armed Forces have carried out missile and drone strikes against oil facilities and military bases in Saudi Arabia following the offensive. On September 15, the Yemeni Armed Forces shot down a Saudi-operated F-15 fighter jet with a surface-to-air-missile.
Nine Saudi warplanes were shot down during the offensive, according to the Yemeni Armed Forces.
Following the retreat of Saudi-backed forces, the Yemeni Armed Forces have seized US-made military equipment including weapons, ammunition, and armored personnel carriers, footage shows.
Saudi Arabia asked Britain, France, Pakistan, and Egypt to provide air defense support from missiles and drones fired by Ansar Allah as Saudi Arabia and the US run low on missile interceptors, officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman requested military assistance from Trump on September 10, which Trump rejected, sources told Reuters.
Over 100 US military advisers have been sent to provide Saudi Arabia with intelligence and targeting support, sources told CNN.
The US has not directly attacked Ansar Allah since the May 2025 ceasefire that ended with the defeat of US imperialism’s air-and-sea bombing campaign, described by US leaders as the most intense naval battle the US had faced since World War II.
Saudi Arabia has enforced a sea, land, and air blockade against Yemen since March 2015, giving rise to a widespread famine that began in 2016. The World Food Programme estimates that 17.1 million Yemenis—about 40% of the population—are food insecure.
Image: Combatants in Ansar Allah’s ground offensive, September 12. Credit: Screenshot of video by Yemeni Armed Forces taken by Resistance News Network.
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