Yemen’s government needs tribes to defeat the Houthis. Will they join?
Yemen’s internationally recognised government has launched a new Saudi-backed offensive, opening fronts on the Red Sea coast, Marib and al-Jawf as it seeks to push into Houthi-held areas. Tribes that have long avoided direct confrontation with the Iran-aligned Houthis are watching recent limited government gains and may mobilise if they judge the balance of power is shifting.
Why It Matters
Tribal alignment could materially affect the government’s ability to advance toward Houthi strongholds such as Sanaa, because tribes are a major source of local fighters and influence across northern Yemen. Whether tribes commit — and do so under formal command structures — will shape the scope and sustainability of any government gains.
Key Facts
- Operation: Dawn of Yemen offensive launched by the internationally recognised government with Saudi backing
- Primary frontlines: Red Sea coast, Marib and al-Jawf
- Houthi gains in September: Captured Mocha and territory around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait
- Displacement: More than 200,000 people displaced as fighting escalates, UN says
- Attacks: Houthi attacks on Saudi airports killed three and injured 36, Riyadh says
The Yemeni government’s renewed campaign against the Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah, has placed tribal loyalties back at the center of the country’s conflict calculus. Government forces, backed by Saudi Arabia, have opened operations along the Red Sea coast and in northern provinces including Marib and al-Jawf, seeking to reverse the Houthi territorial gains made in September when the group seized key coastal corridors and parts of the Bab al-Mandeb shipping approaches.
Many tribal leaders who have long opposed or been wary of the Iran-aligned Houthis have avoided overt military confrontation in recent years, deterred by Houthi strength and by past failed uprisings. That caution is apparent again: tribes are monitoring the early results of the Dawn of Yemen offensive to see whether limited advances translate into sustained momentum before committing fighters, analysts and tribal figures say.
A large tribal rally in Marib this week brought together sheikhs and anti-Houthi fighters from groups including the Jadan and Nihm tribes, with organisers declaring a general mobilisation to back the state’s effort to reclaim territory. Researchers such as Adel Dashela of the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies say such mobilisation could help government forces move deeper into Houthi-held areas — but only if tribal involvement becomes sustained and integrated into formal military command structures rather than acting as fragmented, independent militias.
Tribal leaders and analysts caution that past experiences shape current calculations. Abdulsalam Mohammed of the Abaad Studies and Research Center emphasised that tribes tend to “wait for the right time” and will align with a state they view as reliable, recalling episodes such as the 2019 defeat of the Hajoor tribe by the Houthis after limited outside support. The Houthis’ decade-long consolidation of military, financial and political control — including co-opting or replacing traditional leaders and leveraging popular causes like support for Palestine — has further complicated tribal willingness to openly break with them unless backed by effective and dependable state or coalition support.
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