Houthis Capture Key Red Sea Islands, Take Control of Yemen’s Bab al-Mandab Coast

The Houthi movement has seized control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline after taking three strategically important islands, giving the Iran-backed group greater control over the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the world’s most important shipping routes.

The breakthrough followed a week-long offensive in which more than 500 people have reportedly been killed, while about 46,000 others have been forced from their homes, according to the UN migration agency.

Officials from Yemen’s Saudi-backed government said the Houthis had captured the Yemeni side of the Bab al-Mandab Strait and Mayyun Island.

A local government official said the Houthis had “completed their takeover of the Bab al-Mandab area and Mayyun Island”.

The group subsequently seized Greater and Lesser Hanish islands, leaving it in control of all the major islands and the neighbouring Red Sea coastline, according to a government military official.

“Everything that was under our control on the western coast has fallen,” the official said.

A witness told AFP that Houthi fighters were “deploying along the Bab al-Mandab shore and are driving around in military vehicles”.

The capture of Mayyun Island is particularly significant because of its position in the middle of the strait. Its location could give the Houthis greater capacity to threaten Saudi oil tankers, which have been targeted by the group since July.

The Bab al-Mandab Strait connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and provides an important maritime route between Europe and Asia through the Suez Canal.

Global oil supplies under pressure

The Houthi gains come as the wider Middle East conflict continues to disrupt energy supplies.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, has increasingly relied on the Red Sea after Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted its traditional export route through the Gulf.

Iranian official Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, hailed the Houthi advance as a “resounding victory”.

Oil prices have risen above $100 a barrel this week, while average US diesel prices crossed $6 for the first time on Friday.

The increase could pose another challenge for President Donald Trump ahead of the US midterm elections.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree, however, said ships could continue using the Bab al-Mandab Strait safely, except those belonging to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi oil pipeline attacked

The crisis has also affected Saudi Arabia directly, with authorities shutting down an important oil pipeline following a series of attacks.

Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said the East-West pipeline, which runs through the Riyadh and Medina regions, was attacked several times on Thursday.

“The East-West pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions was subjected to several attacks on Thursday morning,” a ministry official told the SPA news agency.

“The pipeline was stopped as a precaution, and the attacks resulted in some injuries,” the official added.

The pipeline has become increasingly important to Saudi Arabia as it seeks to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

Iraq also took action after the attacks. The office of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi announced the dismissal of the commander overseeing the southern Maysan province after authorities said the attacks on Saudi Arabia had originated from within the governorate.

Bahrain, Jordan and Qatar condemned the attacks, while the Gulf Cooperation Council called them “a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable threat to the security of the Kingdom”.

Houthi advance sparks fears of renewed war

The latest offensive is part of renewed fighting in Yemen’s civil war, which erupted after the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014.

Before the latest advance, the group already controlled much of northern Yemen. It has recently expanded its operations into government-held parts of Hodeida and Taiz provinces before moving south along the Red Sea coast.

The Houthis captured Mocha port and Zuqar Island, north of Bab al-Mandab, on Thursday.

Mohamed, 46, who escaped Mocha during the night, described the situation in the historic city as “apocalyptic”.

Government forces have responded with artillery and airstrikes. Their spokesman, Majed Abdullah Al-Nazili, said government troops had begun shelling positions along the Taiz-Mocha road, while residents reported hearing airstrikes.

Saudi Arabia has also carried out airstrikes and sent additional troops from Aden, where Yemen’s internationally recognised government is based.

But the intervention has so far failed to prevent further Houthi advances.

Houthi media reported that Saudi aircraft struck Mocha airport twice on Friday, while a local official said the city’s seaport was hit by six missiles whose origin was unclear.

The escalating fighting has renewed concerns that Yemen could once again descend into a devastating conflict, reviving a war that has already killed hundreds of thousands of people and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

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