RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is planning an offensive against Ansar Allah in Yemen, with options being considered including a coastal push to secure the Red Sea shipping route or an assault on multiple fronts, regional and Western officials said.
The operation, expected to be launched in the coming weeks, will by led by Yemeni forces on the ground, which are overseen by Riyadh, and supported by Saudi air strikes, according to six people with knowledge of the preparations.
While the US is already providing intelligence to support Riyadh's operations in Yemen, and some regional and European nations are providing mainly defensive military aid to the kingdom, the Saudi allies aren't expected to play a direct role in combat operations, said the people who requested anonymity to discuss security matters.
Saudi Arabia entered neighbouring Yemen's civil war in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition in support of the internationally recognised government, which the Ansar Allah had driven out of the capital Sanaa. A truce agreed between the warring parties in 2022 largely held until this year when the Ansar Allah launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi shipping and oil infrastructure in a spillover from the Iran war.
A key objective of the planned Saudi offensive, which hasn't been previously reported, is aimed at reversing the rapid gains made by the Ansar Allah last month when they advanced down the coast and seized control of the Bab el Mandeb strait, according to the people with knowledge of the plans who include Gulf and Yemeni officials and Western diplomats.
The Saudis are considering two possible options for the assault, the Gulf and Yemeni officials said: Either a narrowly focused attack on the area around Bab el Mandeb or a broader offensive that also includes other synchronised attacks on multiple fronts around Yemen, in the governorates of Al Bayda, Marib, Taiz and Al Jawf.
More than 100,000 Yemeni troops could be mobilised in the offensive, depending on the scale, the officials all said.
Spokespeople for the Saudi and Yemeni governments, Ansar Allah and the US military didn't immediately respond to requests for comment about the Saudi plans.
Bab el Mandeb is the southern exit passage of the Red Sea, a key shipping route between the Mediterranean and Asia that's assumed even more importance this year as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed by the Iran conflict.
Riyadh has concluded it cannot enter new Yemeni peace negotiations with the Ansar Allah while the group remain in control of Bab el Mandeb, giving them significant global leverage, the Western diplomats and Gulf official said.
The six people with knowledge of the Saudi preparations couldn't give a precise timing for the launch of the offensive, with their estimates ranging from within a week to until after the US midterm elections in early November.
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