Ansarallah launches major offensive against UAE-backed troops in Marib and Shabwah

Yemen’s Ansarallah resistance movement launched a massive offensive on the evening of 26 March against UAE-backed mercenaries belonging to the Giants Brigade faction in the provinces of Marib and Shabwah, resulting in Ansarallah’s takeover of several positions in those areas.

Clashes between them have been ongoing since last week. On Tuesday, 21 March, 19 people were killed and several others injured in intense fighting between the Ansarallah movement and the Giants Brigade.

Local journalist Nawaf Hamad Nasser said on Sunday evening that “the situation favors the Houthis in Shabwah’s Markha area and Marib’s Harib area … Positions are being handed over without a fight.”

By the early morning hours of Monday, 27 March, fighting was still ongoing in Marib province.

“Now, Sanaa’s forces are launching a fierce attack on the positions of the giants …  in the Harib district” of Marib province, another local source was quoted as saying at around 3:20 am.

These clashes come just a few days after a military official from the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) survived an assassination attempt on 25 March. His convoy was subjected to a drone attack in the southwestern province of Taiz. The PLC immediately placed the blame on Ansarallah.

In a statement released on 26 March, the President of the Saudi-backed government, Rashad al-Alimi, pinned the blame on Ansarallah for both the drone attack and the escalated tension in Marib and Shabwah. Ansarallah has yet to make any comment on the drone incident.

“The group’s escalation in the governorates of Marib and Shabwah, and the failed terrorist attack in Taiz governorate, reflect the miserable situation that this terrorist organization has reached in its hostile approach to peace efforts and its evasion of responsibility,” Alimi said.

The clashes and the recent drone strike in Taiz represent a sudden resumption of military escalation following a long period of relative calm.

As a result of Omani-led mediation, Saudi Arabia and Ansarallah have reached an understanding, and recent reports suggest that the truce agreement could be renewed during the month of Ramadan.

Despite these positive implications and Saudi Arabia’s newfound willingness to end the war, there are still complications relating to Washington and Abu Dhabi’s position on the conflict. According to an exclusive by The Cradle written by Lebanese journalist Hassan Illaik, the US and UAE have “furiously sought to undermine” the understanding reached between Saudi Arabia and Ansarallah in order “to prevent a resolution of the Yemen war.”

The UAE, in particular, has illegally occupied several strategic islands off the coast of Yemen, including the Socotra archipelago and the island of Mayyun. These islands are being transformed into joint Emirati-Israeli military and intelligence centers.

According to another exclusive by The Cradle, there is an expansionist Emirati plan to establish a “maritime empire” in Yemen’s waters through the occupation of these islands. This Emirati plan complicates the peace process.

“The question now is whether there will be a peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Ansarallah that excludes the UAE and its Yemeni proxies. If that happens, Sanaa’s armed forces will almost certainly turn their big guns on the Emiratis … In this event, it is unlikely that Riyadh will come to Abu Dhabi’s assistance. Their common goals in Yemen ended years ago.”