The Houthis (Ansar Allah) have advanced toward the coast in western Lahij as several Saudi-backed military formations were reportedly encircled and others began withdrawing toward the port city of Aden, raising the prospect of a wider collapse of government-aligned positions along the coastal front in Yemen.
On November 11 that Houthi advance units had reached the al-Suraih junction in al-Mudharaba district, as well as the areas of al-Fasiyah and Huwairib overlooking the Khawr Umayrah coastline.
Hundreds of Saudi-backed troops had withdrawn from the Khuzr mountains toward Aden, while formations affiliated with the Giants Brigades and Tariq Saleh had pulled back from Kahbub and al-Saqiya.
The Houthi advances have been accompanied by two separate encirclements involving Saudi-backed formations.
The fourth and fifth battalions of the 21st Infantry Brigade, part of the Nation’s Shield Forces, had become surrounded in al-Majzaa after Houthi fighters cut the road linking the area with al-Dhariba and outflanked the brigade’s communications center.
In a separate development, several Giants Brigades units and formations affiliated with Tariq Saleh were reportedly surrounded in al-Shatayn after Houthi forces advanced toward Khuzr and cut roads and supply routes serving the positions.
Some units had begun withdrawing in different directions without coordinating their movements with other formations.
The encirclements reportedly coincided with orders for additional Saudi-backed units to withdraw. Giants Brigades commanders had instructed troops stationed in al-Saqiya to pull back toward Aden, with the withdrawal already underway.
Commanders of the Nation’s Shield Forces had also ordered their formations across al-Mudharaba to withdraw gradually, with individual companies instructed to leave their positions separately.
The developments threaten the remaining Saudi-backed formations deployed around the areas of Ras al-Ara, al-Saqiya and Kahbub.
Warnings from southern military and political figures that these forces could face a wider encirclement if Houthi fighters cut the main supply route connecting the coastal positions with Aden.
The latest developments follow several days of fighting around al-Majzaa and al-Shatayn. Local sources said Houthi forces captured most of al-Majzaa after two days of intense clashes, forcing Giants Brigades units to withdraw toward al-Shatayn. The fighting had eased by the morning of November 9, the outlet reported.
On November 10th that Nation’s Shield and Giants Brigades forces had brought in reinforcements and recaptured positions lost during the fighting.
If the advance continues, Saudi-backed forces risk losing their ability to maintain a coherent defensive line west of Aden. With their coastal positions increasingly exposed to isolation, individual formations could be cut off from reinforcements and supply routes, leaving them vulnerable to being overwhelmed or forced to abandon the remaining territory along the western approaches to the city.
