Yemeni leader calls for mobilization against Houthis amid military escalation

Rashad al-Alimi, the head of Yemen's Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, called for a general mobilization of citizens in a televised address on Friday. This call comes amid ongoing military escalation with the Iran-backed Houthis, who have recently seized control of Yemen's entire Red Sea coast and the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait. Al-Alimi urged the population to rally around government forces to restore state institutions and extend sovereignty over the national territory, including the capital, Sanaa, which has been under Houthi control since 2014. He announced that individuals who defect from the Houthis to the government would be pardoned in an upcoming amnesty. Al-Alimi also addressed residents in Houthi-controlled areas, encouraging them to protect their children and refrain from sending them to fight alongside the Houthis. The Houthis have been engaged in conflict with Yemen's Saudi-backed government for over a decade, and while a truce was established in 2022, fighting has recently intensified, including missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and a maritime blockade. The Houthis have accused Saudi Arabia of besieging areas under their control and escalated their attacks on Riyadh over the weekend.