Houthis Seek to Tighten Grip on Bab al-Mandab as Yemen Fighting Kills 129

SANAA, Yemen — More than 120 people have been killed in heavy fighting in Yemen after Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched a major offensive near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the world's most important maritime gateways, sources told AFP.

The fighting erupted Thursday after the Houthis launched a ground assault against government-held positions, backed by rocket and drone attacks near Yemen's Red Sea coast.

The offensive appeared aimed at strengthening the Houthis' control over territory near Bab al-Mandab, the narrow strait linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and a vital route for international shipping.

Military sources told AFP that the Houthis were seeking to cut off the government-held port city of Mokha, which has been under pressure for weeks, while advancing towards areas bordering the strategic strait.

A military source and a Taiz official, both speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Houthis had captured elevated positions overlooking government forces near the Red Sea and around the inland city of Taiz.

Those positions could give the rebels a strategic advantage, including the ability to threaten vessels passing through the nearby maritime corridor, the sources said.

The death toll from the latest clashes reached 129 on Friday, according to an AFP tally compiled from several sources, up from an earlier figure of 81.

A Yemeni military official said 66 government fighters had been killed, while medical and military sources close to the Houthis reported at least 62 rebel fighters dead.

The figures could not be independently verified.

The escalation comes after more than a decade of civil war in Yemen and renewed regional tensions involving the Houthis, the internationally recognised government and their foreign backers.

The Houthis have repeatedly attacked shipping in the Red Sea since the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023, disrupting traffic along a route that connects the Mediterranean and Europe with the Indian Ocean and Asia.

The attacks have forced many commercial vessels to take longer routes around the southern tip of Africa, increasing shipping times and costs.

The Red Sea has also become increasingly important amid wider regional disruption to maritime traffic, including tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, another major global shipping chokepoint.

The latest Houthi offensive has raised fresh concerns over the security of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, through which a significant volume of global trade passes.

Yemen's conflict has pitted the Houthis, who seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, against government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition.

A truce reached in 2022 significantly reduced large-scale fighting, but a comprehensive political settlement has remained elusive.

The Houthis have continued to control large parts of northern and western Yemen, while government forces and allied factions hold territory elsewhere in the country.

The latest fighting around the Red Sea coast threatens to further destabilise Yemen and could have consequences well beyond its borders if the Houthis succeed in expanding their military presence near Bab al-Mandab.

The strategic strait is considered critical to global maritime trade, making any sustained disruption a potential threat to shipping, energy supplies and regional security.

GAROWE ONLINE