Houthi Gains Near Hays Force Saudi-Backed Units to Withdraw From Key Western Yemen Front
Reports from western Yemen say large numbers of Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council forces are withdrawing from Hays after Houthi missile and drone strikes, with Camp Khalid already captured and a presidential pardon on offer to surrendering troops along the coast.
A Houthi advance on Yemen’s western front is putting heavy pressure on Saudi-backed forces defending the city of Hays and altering the balance along a critical route toward the Red Sea coast.
On 9 September, field reports pointed to large withdrawals by forces loyal to the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) from Hays, described by pro-Saudi sources as the last major city on the road to Al-Khokha on Yemen’s western coastline. A pro-Saudi commentator, Salem Al-Mus’abi, said the city was being lost and that there were complete withdrawals toward Al-Mokha in some sectors, with forces in the south also pulling back and choosing not to engage in battle. Although Hays has not been confirmed as captured, the scale and direction of the movements are clear.
The armed movement Ansarallah, widely known as the Houthis, is driving this shift with a combination of ground operations and long-range strikes. Reports from the area state that Houthi units launched heavy ballistic missile and drone attacks on PLC troop concentrations around Hays in the hours before the withdrawals. At the same time, Houthi forces continue to push westward and have already taken Camp Khalid, a major military position on the Taizz–Mokha front.
These battlefield events carry immediate consequences for those on the ground. PLC fighters retreating toward Al-Mokha risk being targeted while on the move and face the psychological impact of leaving positions they have held over time. Civilians in and around Hays confront the uncertainty that comes whenever control of a city is in question: shifts in authority, new security rules, and potential disruption to basic services and aid.
Sensing an opportunity to turn military momentum into political advantage, the president of the Houthi-led government has announced a presidential pardon for all PLC forces currently fighting on the western coastal front, provided they lay down their arms and surrender immediately. The offer is explicitly aimed at PLC fighters on this axis and is intended to encourage individual and unit-level surrenders as pressure on Hays mounts.
The situation around Hays matters beyond the city’s limits. Control of this area helps determine who holds key points along the road network linking the contested inland city of Taizz to the ports of Al-Mokha and Al-Khokha. Houthi advances here strengthen their position on Yemen’s western flank at a moment when the broader conflict is marked by fragmented anti-Houthi alliances.
Commentary close to Ansarallah stresses that the movement has spent years preparing for a protracted war and has taken advantage of the incomplete reconciliation between Saudi- and UAE-backed factions whose agreements have largely remained on paper. In that reading, the current offensive fits a long-term pattern in which forces from Sanaa gradually press their advantage against divided opponents.
For Yemenis living along the western coast, the shape of the front line has direct consequences: which authority controls local checkpoints, who collects taxes, how aid is distributed, and whether towns sit close to active fighting or behind a more stable line.
What happens next will hinge on whether Houthi forces move into the urban core of Hays and then push toward Al-Khokha, whether PLC units can regroup and establish new defensive positions closer to Al-Mokha, and whether the Houthi amnesty offer results in visible surrenders. Clear signs that Saudi-backed commanders cannot hold remaining positions on this coastal axis would mark not just a setback in one sector, but a deeper erosion of Saudi-aligned leverage over Yemen’s western approaches.
Sources
- OSINT