As fighting continues between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed government forces, attention has turned to the strategic Kahboub Mountains, in southern Yemen, and the implications of recent Houthi advances. Elisabeth Kendall, President of Girton College at Cambridge University and a Middle East analyst specialising in Yemen, told Al Jazeera that pro-government gains there could help push back Houthi confidence and counter narratives about the group’s success. But she said the Houthis’ advances had shifted the balance of power inside Yemen, leaving government forces trying to recover territory and prevent further expansion. Kendall said this could be a watershed moment for the United States’ standing in the Middle East, arguing that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries may reconsider their reliance on Washington.
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