The Sydney Morning Herald
· collected 2026-10-11 · by Vivian Nereim, Saeed Al-Batati, Shuaib Almosawa
In the weeks before the Iran-backed Houthi militia fanned out along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, sending their foes into a frenzied retreat, a Yemeni government commander called for help.
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commander → back → help
It was obvious to the commander, Lieutenant General Tariq Saleh, that the Houthis wanted to seize his territory to reach the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the most important waterways in the world.
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Houthis → want → world
According to three Yemeni officials, he tried to warn his powerful allies in Saudi Arabia and the United States.
uncertain
he → accord → Arabia
About 10 per cent of global trade goes through the strait.
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cent → go → strait
Amid the US-Israeli war with Iran, both countries had an interest in preventing an Iran-linked militia from winning a perch beside it.
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countries → have → it
Yet last month – when the Houthis did just that – no one was able, or willing, to stop them.
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one → do → them
The militia’s stunning triumph over the Bab el-Mandeb, which unfolded in a single night of chaos and panic, set off a cascade of events that plunged Yemen back into a war with global reverberations.
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that → unfold → reverberations
This month, Saudi Arabia began a bombing campaign to help the Yemeni government reclaim the territory it lost, with intelligence and targeting assistance from the US military.
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it → begin → military
Government-allied forces claimed to have since made significant gains, besieging the Houthi fighters who held the strait.
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who → ally → strait
It is unclear whether the Houthis’ advance will hold, or where they will stop if it does.
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it → hold → ?
The Saudi government has pledged to help the Yemeni government “eliminate” the Houthis.
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government → pledge → Houthis
The last time they took up that mantle, a decade ago, it devolved into a bloody quagmire.
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it → take → quagmire
This is the inside story of the battle that reignited Yemen’s war and the dark lessons it imparts for the next phase of fighting.
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it → reignite → fighting
The Houthi victory on September 10 showed how a ragtag militia transformed into a formidable force with advanced technology.
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militia → show → technology
It was a major defeat for the Yemeni government and its Saudi patrons, demonstrating that they were unable to fight cohesively and plagued by internal strife.
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they → demonstrate → strife
This article is based on interviews with more than 15 people who participated in the fighting or were briefed on what happened, including soldiers, Yemeni military officers, officials with Yemen’s internationally recognised government, US officials and Houthi officials.
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what → base → government
Almost all of them spoke on condition of anonymity, either because they feared retribution from the Houthis or Saudi Arabia, or because they were not authorised to discuss what happened.
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what → speak → Houthis
Their accounts make it clear that while the Houthis’ victory last month surprised many, it was foreseeable.
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it → make → many
For months, the US military and intelligence agencies had warned Saudi Arabia about a resurgent threat from the Houthis and urged Saudi officials to unify the fractious forces of the Yemeni government, according to two senior US officials and one former senior US official.
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military → warn → officials
In the lead-up to his defeat, Saleh had reached out to Saudi and US officials, seeking greater support in holding back the Houthis, according to a Yemeni government official and two senior Yemeni military officers.
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Saleh → reach → official
The officers said he had asked the Saudis for air cover and the Americans for electronic jamming of Houthi communications.
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he → say → communications
Saleh received little from either country, the three officials said.
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officials → receive → country
Even some in his own government seemed disinclined to intervene.
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some → seem → government
US officials offered assistance with planning and intelligence – including on Houthi troop movements – but emphasised that their aid was limited and would not include airstrikes, the current and former US officials said.
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officials → offer → airstrikes
It is unclear why Saudi Arabia, equipped with US fighter jets and bombs, did not step in more intensively on its own.
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Arabia → equip → own
The Saudi government did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the White House.
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House → respond → comment
The Houthis, who survived a US bombing campaign last year, gained international attention during the war in the Gaza Strip by launching missiles and drones at Israel and vessels in the Red Sea.
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who → survive → Sea
Holding territory along the Red Sea would make it even easier for the group to disrupt shipping, analysts say.
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analysts → hold → shipping
Whether any foreign military campaign could have held back the militia remains an open question.
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held → hold → militia
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a Houthi political official, attributed their victory to progress they had made in developing their military capabilities throughout years of war.
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they → attribute → war
The Houthis are fighting “to liberate Yemen from occupation”, he said, dismissing their foes as Saudi “mercenaries”.
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he → fight → mercenaries
Two Yemeni government soldiers interviewed by The New York Times said they ultimately blamed their own feckless leaders for their defeat.
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they → interview → defeat
It was just after sundown on September 9 when everything crumbled, according to one of their comrades, who spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing retribution.
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who → crumble → retribution
He recalled how he had been stationed with other soldiers outside Mokha, a historic port city near the Bab el-Mandeb, when they received reports of Houthi fighters advancing from multiple directions.
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fighters → recall → directions
Suddenly, their communications went dark, he said, severing contact with other units.
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he → go → units
They heard shouting.
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They → hear → ?
“Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!” he remembered his comrades yelling.
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comrades → retreat → ?
They turned and fled for their lives.
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They → turn → lives
Rebels on the rise
The Houthis’ recent conquest belies their simpler origins.
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conquest → belie → origins
The group began in the 1990s as a religious movement focused on Zaydism, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
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group → begin → Islam
…and 62 more, not listed.
The Aporia
