Houthi militants are seeking to expand warfronts in South Yemen in what appears to be a bid to threaten a civil war and energy projects and in the end gain a card for future negotiations.
On Thursday, militants took key parts of Shabwa province which hosts key oil projects and the country's LNG plant.
Military sources said the Houthi infiltration into Ataq, Shabwa's capital, occurred after collusion of chief of the provincial military command.
After Houthis tightened grip on the capital Sanaa and the north, they sought to seize the south and tighten grip on national resources in order to install themselves as the legitimate rulers, observers said.
Such a goal is no longer possible or correct after Arab countries intervened militarily, observers said, while adding it is likely now Houthis come back to the dialog, not exactly soon.
Observers said the militants, who are receiving logistical and military support from the forces loyal to ex-president Saleh, have almost lost the real war.
They are now searching for possible cards to save their face, on one hand, and to guarantee foreign support amid different international reactions and positions toward the situation in Yemen, on the other, observers elaborated.
Moreover, widening violence in the south at the moment might be explained by the concern of Houthis they can't get suitable foreign support, observers said.
Houthi violence in the south will inevitably trigger a civil war.
Houthis are a Zaidi faction whose ideology prevails in the north and never exists in the south.
Southerners will not accept Houthis for two key reasons, the first is their different ideology and ambitions and, the second, their alliance with ex-president Saleh.
Observers said threatening energy projects and inciting a civil war in areas whose communities are completely different appear to be cards of last resort by the militants.
Houthis and Saleh have received devastated blows by airstrikes which have been continuing by a Saudi-led coalition for more than two weeks.
They have been unable to do something to modern fighter jets and warships that have destroyed most of their bases and weapons except through intensifying their war in the south.
The militants waged a war on the south seizing some towns and key military bases weeks ago.
In response, the Arab coalition has helped local popular resistance in southern cities to push the militants out of seized towns.
If we count losses of Houthis, we will find out the militants are killing themselves for gains which they can achieve peacefully, observers said.
The point is that the Houthi insistence on fight implies their devotion to serving goals of Iran which has recently introduced itself as a regional player deeply involved in feeding chaos and conflicts, observers added.
Houthis receive Iranian support and the latest developments exposed presence of members of Iranian revolutionary guards and Hizbollah in Yemen training Houthis and fighting with them.
While some expected Houthis to make more maneuvers and risks due to escalating Arab-Iranian struggle, many observers said the Saudi-led decisive storm military operation is a sign Arabs will not allow Iran to destroy more Arab states in the name of Islamic Revolution.