Yemen’s council chair Rashad al-Alimi urged people to join Saudi-backed forces in a Friday speech, his first since government forces were routed from the western Red Sea coast. He offered immediate amnesty to Houthi defectors, subject to constitutional and legal procedures.
Al-Alimi said the internationally recognized government aims to restore state institutions and sovereignty across Yemen, including Sana’a, which the Houthis seized in 2014. The speech marked the 64th anniversary of the 1962 coup that ousted northern Yemen’s monarchy and prompted the civil war.
Separately, military chiefs of staff from Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan held their first meeting on the Mecca Pact, a trilateral defense agreement, amid Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. On Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted a Houthi-launched ballistic missile bound for Khamis Mushait and two drones headed for Riyadh.
