Yemen’s anti-Houthi forces launch inquest into sudden military collapse

Houthi troopers on patrol in Sana'a, Yemen. The Houthis have become an increasingly sophisticated army. Photograph: Yahya Arhab/EPA

A bitter inquest is under way among Yemen’s anti-Houthi forces as to how what was being billed as a decisive assault on Sana’a, the Houthi-controlled capital, suddenly collapsed into a military rout.

More than 15 brigades were defeated as the country’s entire west coast fell into Houthi hands. Efforts are now being made to reorganise the anti-Houthi forces representing the UN-recognised Yemeni government in order to capture the Kahbob mountains, a strategic point from which to restrict Houthi forces moving closer to the crucial Bab al-Mandab strait.