Reuters has reported that Saudi Arabia is planning an offensive against the Ansarallah Houthi movement in Yemen, which could include a coastal push to secure the Red Sea shipping route or an assault on multiple fronts, regional and Western officials told Reuters. The operation, expected to be launched in the coming weeks, will be led by Yemeni forces on the ground which are overseen by Riyadh, and supported by Saudi air strikes. A key objective of the planned Saudi offensive, Reuters reported further, is aimed at reversing the rapid gains made by the Houthis last month when they advanced down the coast and seized control of the Bab al Mandeb strait, the sources said.

Reuters’ sources claimed that more than 100,000 Yemeni troops could be mobilized in the offensive, depending on the scale. Reuters notes that any ground operation inside Yemen will rely on the disparate coalition of Yemeni fighting factions that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates armed and trained at earlier stages of the civil war when the conflict ground to a bloody stalemate.

“Many anti-Houthi forces are still not organized or prepared for the kind of sustained offensive required to push back a disciplined Houthi military force. And they are being tested right now, as the Houthis apply pressure across several fronts at once,” said Yemen analyst Mohammed Albasha.

The Yemeni Armed Forces (the Houthis) reported that the Saudi-led coalition carried out 94 airstrikes against Yemeni territories within 24 hours, compared with an earlier daily average of 40 to 50 strikes. Since the latest escalation in fighting began, Riyadh has reportedly carried out approximately 1,350 airstrikes across Yemen. The intensified bombardment killed at least two Yemeni civilians and wounded more than five others, while Yemeni forces and popular committees continued their advance against Saudi-backed factions on the ground.