Al-Jawf becomes new hotspot in Yemen war between government forces, Houthis

Al-Jawf has become a new focal point in the conflict between forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the Houthis, highlighting the strategic importance of the northern governorate.

A major counteroffensive has been launched by the Yemeni government army and forces loyal to it to capture the strategic heights east of the provincial capital, al-Hazm, from the Houthis.
The operations are part of Operation Dawn of Yemen, launched by the government last month to reverse Houthi territorial gains and restore state control in the country.

Al-Hazm has become a central part of this operation, with the city a potential launchpad for government forces against the Houthis. They have controlled the capital Sanaa and most of northern Yemen since the war broke out in September 2014.

Strategic defence lines
During the 12 years of war in Yemen, control over al-Hazm has shifted several times, with the Houthis seizing the city in March 2020.

The governorate remains highly coveted due to its expansive border with Saudi Arabia and its direct geographic links to five pivotal governorates: Hadramout, Saada, Sanaa, Amran and oil-rich Marib and close to the capital, Sanaa.

Al-Jawf also acts as a vital defensive shield for Marib, controlled by government forces, preventing the Houthis from advancing into the eastern regions. It is also a gateway to major Houthi strongholds in northern Yemen.
“Government forces succeeded in breaking that defensive format with partial control over the Al-Alam front road,” Al-Qurashi said. “The government advance represents a beginning to tighten the noose on the Houthis in the upper al-Labanat camp,” which is regarded as a vital eastern gateway to Sanaa.

Ali Al-Dahab, a military and strategic affairs researcher, said there are immense tactical benefits from holding this elevated terrain.

“The recent advances of government forces in Al-Jawf are a military transformation that serves the course of future operations for their arrival to al-Hazm city,” Al-Dahab told Al Jazeera.

“The government forces’ recovery of a number of heights there provides a military and psychological morale advantage and confuses the Houthis’ decisions, in addition to granting government forces monitoring, movement, and observation of Houthi supply lines and securing their own lines.”

Military spokesman Majed Abdullah Al-Nuzaili said on X that recent military operations against Houthi positions in al-Jawf were “inflicting losses on the militia’s capabilities”.