Houthi Leader Call For Exploiting Southern Tensions To Reclaim West Coast
Strategic Shift: Houthi Leadership Orders Push for West Coast Amid Southern Fragility
On December 30, 2025, the leader of the Houthi movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, held a video conference with group leaders in Sana’a. During the meeting, he called for mobilization and preparation for the upcoming phase, with a specific focus on reclaiming the West Coast, according to Yemeni sources familiar with the details of the meeting.
According to the sources, al-Houthi emphasized that the discontinuation of support for the UAE-backed Southern forces would lead to their rapid collapse. He noted that this would pave the way for the group to recapture strategic areas in the South, stressing the importance of “mobilization and preparation for the next stage and focusing on the recovery of the West Coast.”
According to the British website “uknip,” experts warn that this move signals increasing Houthi expansion toward the South, following a series of military operations that allowed the group to regain areas it had lost in previous years.
The southern coast of Yemen is a vital region for maritime navigation and international trade. Consequently, any military escalation there poses a direct threat to navigation in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The group is attempting to exploit tensions between government forces—supported by the Arab Coalition—to expand its influence in the southern governorates. This comes amid local and international warnings regarding the repercussions of any security vacuum on the stability of maritime corridors and global trade.
Military experts believe that recent Houthi steps confirm the group’s determination to increase its strategic presence in the South, including seizing control of major ports and threatening shipping lanes, at a time when the Yemeni state continues to face difficulties in asserting control over its entire territory.
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