Giants Brigades lead southern Yemen fightback against the Houthis

Yemen’s Southern Giants Brigades have emerged as one of the leading forces against the Houthis. Save Share On October 5, groups linked to the former Southern Transitional Council (STC), including the powerfulSouthern Giants Brigades, and troops of the internationally recognised government of Yemen, launched a major offensive against the Houthis near the strategically important Bab al-Mandeb strait. It was part of a nationwide military campaign aimed at driving the Houthis, an armed group also known as Ansar Allah or Supporters of God, out of territories under their control, including the vital coastline regionseized by the Iran-linked groupin September. By Monday afternoon, the pro-government force, led by the Giants Brigade, said they had managed to cut off the main road linking the Red Sea port city of Mocha with the Bab al-Mandeb, a vital waterway for energy supplies. This effectively gave the anti-Houthi forces one of their first major military gains in years and followed an announcement by Rashid al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), of a major offensive against the Iran-backed group. It also highlighted the effectiveness of anti-Houthi forces – which include units with contrasting political goals – when working together. This has seen STC-affiliated groups, some of whom seek independence for the south, ally with pro-government national forces against the Houthis. The collaboration between these two factions follows ahigh-profile conflict in southern Yemen in January, when Saudi-aligned Yemeni government forces defeated the United Arab Emirates-backed STC, resulting in the relative centralisation of anti-Houthi forces. Among the leading formations in the recent government offensive led by this alliance are the Giants Brigades, which have their roots in the southern separatist movement. The force is commanded byAbd al-Rahman Abu Zaraa al-Muharrami, a Salafi who studied at the ultraconservative Dammaj religious school in the northern governorate of Saada. Formed largely by Salafi fighters during the battle against the Houthis in the southern city of Aden in the first half of 2015, the Giants Brigades have become one of Yemen’s most formidable military forces during the war. The brigades, believed to have been armed, trained and funded by the UAE, rose to prominence in 2017, leading an offensive that captured large swaths of Yemen’s western coast from the Houthis....