Khaberni - The leader of the Houthi group, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, held a visual meeting with the group's leaders in Sanaa on December 30, 2025, demanding mobilization and preparation for the next stage and focusing on regaining the West Coast, according to Yemeni sources familiar with the meeting details.
According to the sources, al-Houthi confirmed that discontinuing support for the southern forces backed by the UAE would quickly lead to the collapse of these forces, which would open the field for the group to regain strategic areas in the south, emphasizing the importance of "mobilization and preparation for the next stage and focusing on reclaiming the West Coast."
According to the British site "uknip," this move, according to experts, signals the Houthi's increasing expansion towards the south following a series of military operations that have returned the group to areas it had previously lost over the past years.
The southern coast of Yemen is a vital area for maritime navigation and international trade, and any military escalation there poses a direct threat to navigation in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The group is trying to take advantage of the tensions between the government forces supported by the Arab coalition to expand its influence in the southern provinces, amid local and international warnings of the repercussions of any security vacuum on the stability of maritime corridors and global trade.
Military experts believe that the Houthi's recent actions confirm the group's determination to increase its strategic presence in the south, including taking control of main ports and threatening navigation lines, at a time when the Yemeni state is still facing difficulties in asserting its control over all its territories.
