• Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, urges broad national mobilization behind government forces amid escalating fighting with Houthis.
  • The call includes support for oil export resumption to fund salaries and services, as the economy contracts and humanitarian needs soar.
  • Recent Houthi advances near the Bab al-Mandab Strait and clashes on multiple fronts have widened the conflict, raising risks for regional trade and aid deliveries.

Yemen's PLC Chairman Calls for Mass Mobilization

Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen's internationally recognized Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), has called for broad national mobilization behind government armed forces and security bodies as fighting with the Houthi movement escalates, according to a statement released Thursday. The appeal is part of a wider government effort to rebuild military readiness, coordinate civilian support for front-line forces, and reassert authority against Houthi control.

The call comes as clashes intensify along Yemen's western coast and on several other fronts. UN reporting indicates that Houthi advances toward the Bab al-Mandab Strait—a strategic chokepoint for energy and commercial shipping—have widened the conflict geographically. "The situation is deteriorating rapidly, and we must all stand together to defend the republic," al-Alimi said in the statement, according to people familiar with the matter.

In July, al-Alimi urged Yemenis—including tribes, political groups, youth, and women—to support the state, armed forces, and security services in a campaign to restore state institutions and end Houthi rule. He also linked the effort to restarting oil exports and using revenues for salaries and public services. Oil exports remain blocked, depriving the government of a key revenue source. The World Bank reports that real GDP contracted 1.5% in 2025 and projects a further 0.5% contraction in 2026.

Military Readiness and Logistical Support

By August and September, the PLC had raised military, security, and intelligence readiness, authorizing what it described as lawful preventive and deterrent measures against Houthi command structures, military capabilities, and funding sources. The mobilization has expanded beyond enlistment. A government-backed committee involving more than 15 provinces and several ministries is organizing food, fuel, supplies, relief convoys, and blood-donation support for front-line personnel. The youth recruitment function remains formally with military authorities, according to the committee's head.

Aid agencies say insecurity is interrupting or threatening humanitarian and commercial shipments. UN agencies reported that more than 130,000 people fled their homes from the beginning of September through late September, amid clashes spanning areas including Aden, Hudaydah, Abyan, and Taiz. Before this escalation, Yemen already had more than 5.2 million internally displaced people. UNHCR reported at least 110 civilian casualties, including 28 deaths, in the current escalation.

The PLC's more forceful posture follows a period in which the 2022 truce reduced large-scale nationwide fighting without creating a durable political settlement. UN officials warned in August that Yemen faced its greatest risk of a return to major war since that truce, amid attacks around Ma'rib and Hadramawt, attacks on commercial shipping, and strikes affecting civilian infrastructure.

Economic and Regional Implications

The economic logic of the government's mobilization is two-sided: it may improve military coordination and territorial defense, but a broader conflict is likely to further disrupt trade, fuel availability, livelihoods, and aid operations. Yemen's seaborne exports were about 392,000 metric tons in 2025—15% below 2024 levels and 83% below the 2022 baseline—reflecting the effects of the oil-export blockade. Funding for the UN response plan was only 28% of assessed needs in 2025, down from 56.5% in 2024, leaving a smaller buffer against a renewed conflict shock.

Internationally, the conflict matters well beyond Yemen. The Bab al-Mandab is a strategic Red Sea chokepoint for energy and commercial shipping. Houthi gains or sustained hostilities near it increase risks for vessels, aid deliveries, insurance costs, and regional trade routes. The conflict pits Saudi-backed government forces against an Iran-aligned Houthi movement, creating implications for Saudi-Yemeni security and wider regional tensions. The UN Security Council has continued its reporting mechanism on Houthi attacks against merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

Al-Alimi's appeal resembles past periods of heightened military readiness, but it comes in a more difficult environment: the economy is weaker, public funding is constrained, humanitarian aid is underfunded, and Red Sea-related regional tensions have raised the stakes of local battlefield changes. The PLC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the mobilization's expected scale or timeline.

Near term, expect intensified recruitment and logistical support, higher readiness among PLC-aligned forces, and continued pressure on contested fronts. The government may seek to translate mobilization into a more coordinated military response, while the Houthis are likely to sustain or expand pressure where they see operational advantage. The greatest immediate risks are civilian displacement, interruptions to aid and commercial shipping, and escalation near the Bab al-Mandab corridor.

Long term, a durable improvement in government control would require more than a mobilization call. It would depend on coherent command structures among diverse anti-Houthi forces, reliable financing, restored oil income, functioning local services, and a political process capable of addressing Yemen's fragmented power centers. Conversely, prolonged escalation could deepen territorial division, raise regional-security risks, and make Yemen's humanitarian emergency still more entrenched.

The key indicator to watch is whether the PLC can convert its public call into unified command, sustained logistical capacity, and political cohesion—rather than simply a temporary surge in support—while avoiding an escalation that overwhelms already strained civilian and humanitarian systems.