The Houthis Plan To Control All Of Yemen

Things are changing quickly in Yemen.  The Houthis are on the march, taking all of the coastline of the Red Sea within Yemen, which gives them an incredible vantage point to block trade that comes south from the Suez Canal. 

The Yemeni forces facing the Houthis are pretty disorganized and they are generally weaker than the Houthi forces.  There are two main factions facing off against the Houthis and those are the PLC and the STC.

The PLC (Presidential Council Leadership) - these are forces that control a lot of the desert and eastern areas of Yemen.  The PLC is the political group that is recognized by most of the world as the legitimate government of Yemen, but they probably control less than 10% of the population.

The STC (Southern Transitional Council) - these forces are in the far south of the country and they want to break away from the rest of Yemen altogether.

At the start of 2026 the PLC and STC both fought one another briefly as they vied for control of the non-Houthi controlled regions.

Meanwhile parts of the country are ruled by tribal groups that function as local warlords.  These tribal elements, combined with the division of the STC and PLC, it's not a good situation for those who would resist the full takeover of Yemen by the advancing Houthis.

Another problem is that the Houthis have become very adept at using drones.  They use drones to attack buildings, vehicles and soldiers.  They also use drones to target their mortar fire, and drones help report enemy troop positions.

The Houthis also outnumber the opposing fighters.  With somewhere between 200,000 to 400,000 full-time fighters plus reserve soldiers, the Houthis can take losses and keep fighting.  And the Houthi governed areas control approximately 70% - 75% of the full population of Yemen.

Finally, the Houthis are a highly religious and driven group of fighters.  They have suffered for many decades of war, famine, drought and disease.  They are a very difficult opponent to take on and with the defense structures being controlled by various forces with much smaller populations, it is not a good look for the non-Houthi regions of the nation.

It's hard to put a timeline on the fast-changing situation on the ground, but it would seem that it's only a matter of time before the Houthis have taken full control of Yemen.