Yemen's internationally recognized leader calls for enlistment, offers amnesty to Houthi defectors

Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen's internationally recognized Presidential Leadership Council, has called on the public to enlist in the fight against the Houthi movement while offering an amnesty to Houthi fighters willing to defect.

The address was al-Alimi's first public remarks since his forces lost ground on the western Red Sea coast, a setback that has raised questions about the momentum of the broader campaign against the Iran-aligned Houthis, who control large parts of northern Yemen including the capital, Sanaa.

By combining a call to arms with an amnesty offer, al-Alimi appears to be pursuing a dual strategy: bolstering his own forces' numbers while trying to weaken the Houthis from within by encouraging defections.

Yemen's conflict, now in its second decade, has repeatedly shifted in intensity as different factions gain and lose territory, with the Red Sea coast remaining a strategically important front given its proximity to key shipping routes.