Sources: Houthis Deploy Fighters from Coastal Forces to Southern Marib, Expand Recruitment

     A Yemeni army source told Sheba Intelligence that the Houthis had transferred large numbers of fighters absorbed from west coast forces to the Al-Jubah and Al-Abdiyah fronts in southern Marib over the past 24 hours, accompanied by vehicles, light and medium weapons, and ammunition.

The source said the fighters, previously members of the National Resistance forces led by Tariq Saleh, were transported aboard small trucks and medium-sized buses. Heavy weapons seized on the coast were moved to Sanaa and Saada, while personnel and part of the captured equipment were sent toward Marib.

The source described the seized arsenal as substantial, including artillery, multiple rocket launchers, ammunition, and assorted military equipment, warning that the reinforcements could increase pressure on government forces along Marib’s southern fronts.

According to the source’s estimates, the forces that withdrew to Ras al-Arah amounted to only a few brigades out of approximately 15 previously deployed along the west coast. The source believes the Houthis have absorbed thousands of National Resistance fighters, including some who had served in Houthi ranks before former President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s death and Tariq Saleh’s subsequent move to the coast.

Sheba Intelligence could not independently verify the number of fighters absorbed or transferred, or the volume of equipment seized. The limited number of troops reported to have reached Ras al-Arah does not, by itself, establish the fate of the remaining brigades or indicate that they joined the Houthis as intact formations.

Meanwhile, Sheba Intelligence has learned that the Houthis are intensifying recruitment in rural communities under their control across Dhamar, Sanaa, Ibb, Hajjah, and other governorates. The campaign is being presented as an effort to reinforce “security committees” on the coast, drawing on the group’s advances in Mokha and Bab al-Mandab to promote a narrative of continuing military success.

Separately, sources in Taiz said the Houthis are conducting covert recruitment through individual leaders operating in frontline communities, including villages in Jabal Habashi. These figures approach community leaders and influential young people to persuade them to join the group.

According to the sources, such contacts help build local influence that can facilitate the takeover of villages without fighting, while providing recruits and collaborators from areas previously held by Houthi opponents.

Sources within the Houthi movement said its recent gains have included weapons, funds, and expanded networks of local collaborators and spotters. They described economic need and fear of retaliation as factors driving some people to join. The scale of these recruitment and infiltration efforts could not be independently verified.

The Houthis also fired several missiles toward government troop positions, according to information received by Sheba Intelligence. No casualties were announced.

The launches follow earlier reporting by Sheba Intelligence, citing intelligence sources, that the group planned to advance toward the Al-Arah coast in Lahj after taking Dhubab and Mayun Island, seeking to consolidate its position around Bab al-Mandab. The reported plan included ballistic missile strikes intended to disrupt government forces. The latest launches are consistent with that element of the reported plan, although the missile type and their connection to a wider ground advance remain unconfirmed.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for Yemeni government forces announced that air operations had begun against an area previously designated a “kill box,” urging civilians to avoid the Taiz–Mokha and Mokha–Dhubab roads. Airstrikes were reported in Mokha, Jabal al-Nar, and Dhubab district, but confirmed details of their effects or casualties were unavailable.

In a concurrent regional development, a statement attributed to Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy, dated September 11, said the East–West pipeline had been shut down as a precaution following multiple attacks in the Riyadh and Medinaregions the previous morning. According to the statement, the attacks caused injuries, and emergency and technical teams began securing the pipeline and assessing its condition.