‘Failure of epic proportions’: Yemen’s lightning assault fractures Saudi-led coalition
Sources told US media that the Ansarallah-led Yemeni army’s opponents, already weakened in recent days, faced ‘waves and waves’ of Sanaa’s forces in the latest battle
Saudi Arabia and the US have made a mistake of “epic proportions,” a source told US media on 12 September, as Ansarallah-led forces continued to sweep across Yemen’s western coast and inflict enormous losses on Riyadh-backed troops.
The Ansarallah-led Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) “committed everything they had – waves upon waves of fighters … along with their available ballistic missiles and weapons,” the source, affiliated with Saudi-backed militias in Yemen, told CNN.
Other regional sources are cited in the report, including one who said that the YAF victories marked a “Saudi-American f**k up of epic proportions.”
The report says that Ansarallah's rapid capture of the strategic port city of Al-Mokha and, a day later, Perim Island at the entrance to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, has triggered an intense blame game among Saudi, Yemeni, and US-backed officials.
According to the senior Yemeni military source linked to Riyadh’s proxy army in Yemen, repeated pleas for Saudi air support were made as the YAF advanced, with US Central Command (CENTCOM) reportedly assuring Yemeni forces that Saudi air cover was on its way.
"But the air support never came," the source said, adding: "And Al-Mokha has now fallen."
Other sources are cited as saying that both Saudi Arabia and the US are to blame for the collapse of the Saudi-backed front.
One source said it represented "a complete failure of political leadership" following delays in Saudi decision-making and the absence of effective Saudi airstrikes during the decisive stages of the battle.
CNN also reported that US President Donald Trump declined a request from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to strike Ansarallah, with the White House saying Washington remains focused on protecting freedom of navigation while regional partners take the lead.
The report also points to serious structural weaknesses within the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces.
Citing a Western source familiar with the operations, CNN said Ansarallah encountered battalions whose actual fighting strength amounted to only around 20 percent of their official manpower because payrolls were filled with "ghost" soldiers.
The report further states that Saudi Arabia failed to replace military positions vacated after the UAE withdrew its remaining forces earlier this year, following the spat between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi in Yemen.
This failure left key bases understaffed and contributed to the rapid collapse of defenses. Another source told CNN: "The Saudis threw the Yemenis under the bus."
Mohammed al-Basha, who has served as a US government adviser on private-sector risks in the Arab world, pointed to failures in Yemeni leadership and issues within the coalition.
“Blame also rests with Yemeni leaders, whose internal divisions jeopardized their defenses. This goes back to a deeper problem in the [Saudi-led] coalition.”
CNN concludes that the Ansarallah-led YAF’s capture of Al-Mokha and Perim Island significantly strengthens its strategic position along the Red Sea by providing additional launch points for maritime operations and increasing leverage over the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital global shipping route.
The report also notes that more than 100 US military personnel have recently been deployed to Saudi Arabia to provide intelligence and targeting support, even as officials and analysts cited by CNN warn that Ansarallah appears to be mobilizing for further advances along Yemen's western coast.
The YAF released footage on 12 September showing graphic, high-definition scenes from the battle – captured over the past few days.
It shows Yemeni forces storming Saudi-backed positions across the western coast. Heavy damage is seen being inflicted on the forces, including the complete destruction of scores of military vehicles.
Some of the equipment belonged to the Emirati-backed mercenary group the Giants Brigades.
In some scenes, the YAF halts fire as Saudi-led coalition forces flee in defeat, with Yemeni soldiers heard chanting in celebration.
Captives are also seen being taken, as shown in other recent clips released by the official Yemen Military Media page in recent days.
“This is the fate of Saudi-backed mercenaries in Yemen,” one Yemeni soldier says in the new video while standing in front of a burning vehicle belonging to Saudi-backed fighters.
The YAF stormed Red Sea islands and other areas on 10 September.
The operation followed several days of fighting, which saw Saudi-backed troops take heavy losses despite strikes carried out by the kingdom.
Sanaa hailed it as a “national operation within the framework of asserting Yemeni sovereignty.”
Yemeni forces stormed prisons on the coast where Yemeni soldiers and resistance fighters were being imprisoned on behalf of Saudi Arabia, releasing them all, according to officials.
Sanaa’s recent escalation of retaliatory operations was prompted by Saudi Arabia’s July attack on Sanaa International Airport, which has been under blockade by the kingdom for more than a decade since Riyadh launched its brutal war on Yemen in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition.
A 2023 Saudi–Yemeni peace process nearly resulted in an agreement between the two sides.
The peace talks stalled but prevented a major escalation from erupting. Yet the kingdom has continued attacks for years and its illegal and deadly blockade of Yemeni ports and airports.
Sanaa has been heavily mobilizing and has vowed to fully expel the Saudi-led coalition from Yemen.