Yemeni forces fighting for the internationally recognised, Saudi-backed government said on Sunday that they were pulling out of an area overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, leaving the Houthis in control of the position. The withdrawal gives the Houthi movement greater leverage over the maritime chokepoint at a time when Iran continues to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is one of the world’s busiest routes for seaborne commodities and goods, particularly shipments travelling from Asia to Europe through Egypt’s Suez Canal. Taken together with the disruption in Hormuz, the shift could further cut Gulf oil producers off from their main shipping routes.
Southern forces redeploy toward Aden
The southern Yemeni forces said they were moving their units from Dhubab Airport and the Bab el-Mandeb area, west of Taiz Governorate, toward Aden, where the government is based. In a statement, they said the move was driven by “the priority of securing the capital, Aden, and the neighbouring governorates” as well as strengthening front lines.
Also read: Yemen government forces claim new Lahj gains amid Houthi clashes · Saudi forces intercept Houthi missiles aimed at Riyadh
The Houthis control much of the north, including the capital Sanaa and Yemen’s most populous areas. They are now increasing pressure on the southern areas that remain under government control.
Government offensive and the Houthi push to the coast
Government forces launched a military campaign in October to recapture strategic coastal areas from the Houthi militia. The group had pushed south in September in an attempt to seize Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast, and its rapid advance brought it within reach of Bab el-Mandeb.
The escalation broke a truce brokered by the United Nations in 2022. It has also become another volatile front in the wider US-Israeli war on Iran, which is now nine months old.
Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and the Taiz siege
The Houthis continue to launch attacks on Saudi Arabia, a key US ally and the world’s biggest crude exporter. Saudi Arabia had enjoyed relative calm in the early months of the Iran war, but Houthi strikes have since disrupted flights and oil supplies. The attacks have hit Saudi ports, airports and facilities of the state oil company Saudi Aramco, including the Red Sea oil export hub of Yanbu.
In response, Saudi Arabia struck Houthi targets in Yemen. The country has been mired in civil war since 2014, when the Houthis pushed the government south, and it is grappling with one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Fighting is intensifying around the western region of Taiz, where conditions are worsening. The city hosts about half of the 300,000 people displaced across Yemen by the latest fighting and remains besieged. Aid supplies cannot get in, and civilians cannot get out.
