Yemen’s government is on the attack against the Houthis. What has changed?

Yemen’s internationally recognised government wants to show that it has finally taken the initiative against the Houthis in the country’s long-running war. The announcement of Operation Dawn of Yemen on Monday to restore state authority across the country was quickly followed by a military offensive on the southern Red Sea coast. The initial aim is to reverse gains made by the Houthis last month, when the Iranian-backed group took control of one of the world’s most important waterways, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait . But the ultimate goal of the operation is to retake the areas of the country held by the Houthis for more than a decade, including the capital, Sanaa, which they seized by force in 2014 and later imposed their own government.