Yemeni Leader Rashad al-Alimi Calls for General Mobilization and Offers Amnesty to Houthi Defectors

Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council chair Rashad al-Alimi has urged the public to mobilize and join the Saudi-backed armed forces to counter Houthi advances toward the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait. In his first speech following government forces being routed from the western Red Sea coast by the rebel group, Al-Alimi also offered a pardon to any Houthi fighter who defects to government forces.

“I call on the sons of our great people to engage in a general mobilisation and national mobilisation to rally around their armed and security forces, join their ranks through official channels, and contribute each from their respective position in whatever way they can,” Al-Alimi stated in a recorded address.

The internationally recognized government's ultimate goal is to restore control over the capital Sana’a, which was seized by the Houthis in 2014. Al-Alimi's remarks coincided with the 64th anniversary of the military coup that ousted the northern Yemen monarchy and sparked the 1962 civil war.

“Our objective is clear to everyone both at home and abroad: to restore state institutions and exercise their sovereignty over the entire country, including Sana’a,” Al-Alimi emphasized. Meanwhile, military chiefs of staff from Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Pakistan held their inaugural meeting regarding the Mecca Pact trilateral defense agreement amid ongoing Houthi attacks on the kingdom.

Al-Alimi noted that the immediate amnesty applies to those abandoning the Houthi group, subject to proper constitutional and legal procedures. Concurrently, the Saudi-led coalition reported intercepting a ballistic missile launched toward Khamis Mushait and two drones targeting Riyadh.