by Murad Abdo
ADEN, Yemen, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Over the past few weeks, the Houthi group appeared to have adopted a new military strategy and began attacking government-controlled provinces in the country's southern part, Yemeni analysts said.
Despite four years of military operations launched by the Yemeni government forces backed by a Saudi Arabia-led coalition, the Houthis showed a defiant position and shifted to carrying out offensives instead of defending their areas, according to the analysts.
During the last two weeks, the Houthis began launching a series of intensive attacks on positions of the government forces in the northern part of al-Dhalea and managed to control key mountainous areas overlooking government-controlled areas in the province.
The army forces loyal to Yemen's government announced counteroffensives to defend southern provinces, vowing to reclaim all areas seized by Houthis.
But the Houthis continued marching on the northern outskirts of al-Dhalea province despite the intensified aerial bombardment against their sites and showed stiff resistance to the on-ground military operations launched by the government forces.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Houthi fighters managed to seize Al Husha district, west of al-Dhalea province, following fierce battles with forces loyal to the Yemeni government.
Ali Hadi, a Yemeni military observer, told Xinhua the Houthis desperately want to achieve a significant military progress towards the country's southern part, where they have no public support.
"The Houthi group lost the battles in the southern provinces during the past years and now it tries to make a new desperate advancement but that will be more difficult," he said.
According to the military observer, the Houthis mainly aim to shift the government's concentration away from advancing militarily towards the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah and other northern provinces.
"Houthis are attacking the southern provinces because they realized that only southern fighters allied with the Saudi-led coalition stand against their expanding project in Yemen," he clarified.
He added that "Houthis are planning to force hundreds of fighters who are advancing and battling the Houthis in Hodeidah and elsewhere in northern Yemen to withdraw, but their military strategy will not succeed."
Officials affiliated with pro-government political parties exchanged accusations and blamed each other for facilitating the Houthi progress towards the country's southern provinces controlled by the internationally-backed government.
A high-ranking military official who preferred to be unnamed blamed military factions linked to Yemen's Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islah party for supporting the Houthis to advance towards the southern provinces.
"Some intelligence tips revealed that the Houthis are receiving support and they easily seized heavy weapons from key military positions that were previously run by forces linked to the Islah party which is conflicting with southern Yemeni forces," the unnamed official said.
For Mansour Saleh, an Aden-based political analyst, the Houthis didn't achieve military progress towards the southern provinces but some factions facilitated the Houthi's seizure of key military sites on the outskirts of the southern provinces.
"What's happening in these days can't be described as Houthi progress but simply there is a laxity and surrender of military positions by some pro-government forces in favor of the Houthis," said Saleh.
He said that some pro-government forces gave up their loyalty and shifted to fighting with Houthis against the country's southern provinces "in what appeared to be a hidden consensus on a future settlement between the two sides."
He added that "it looks like the forces of the country's northern part decided to postpone the war against the Houthis for the protection of Yemen's unity and for seizing control over the southern provinces."
The anti-Houthi forces positioned in the northern parts of al-Dhalea province urged Yemen's government and the Saudi-led coalition to support their fronts with necessary military equipment to repulse the Houthi advancement.
Other Yemeni experts believed that the delay in providing the pro-government forces with armored vehicles and modern military equipment helped the Houthis to make progress on-ground.
"Pro-government forces were left without adequate military support and Houthis seized the chance to advance but the next days will witness a significant change in the battleground," said Mohamed Ban Yahya, a military expert based in southern Yemen.
"Houthis know it clearly that entering the southern provinces is an impossible task but they want to deceive their fighters about making baseless victories," he said.
The areas located in the north and west of al-Dhalea province have been witnessing continuous fighting between government forces and Houthi fighters for nearly four years.
Yemen has been plagued by a civil war since late 2014 after Houthi rebels revolted against the Saudi-backed internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The rebels advanced from their far northern stronghold of Saada province toward the south, seizing control over much of the country's north, including the capital Sanaa, which triggered the deadliest war that entered its fifth year.
