Yemeni government forces said they are withdrawing from an area overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, leaving the Iran-aligned Houthis in control. The move gives the Houthis greater leverage over a strategic maritime chokepoint while Iran continues to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Yemeni forces fighting for the Saudi-backed government said on Sunday they were withdrawing from an area overlooking the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The Iran-aligned Houthis now hold it. The retreat hands them greater leverage over the maritime chokepoint, Reuters reported.
A second squeeze on Gulf shipping routes
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is one of the world's most important and busiest routes for seaborne commodity and goods shipments, particularly from Asia to Europe via Egypt's Suez Canal. However, Iran continues to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula. Reuters wrote that this dual squeeze would further isolate Gulf oil producers from their main shipping routes.
The southern forces said they are redeploying toward Aden, where the government is based. In a statement, they said: "This step is taken based on the priority of securing the capital, Aden".
Fighting that broke a 2022 truce
Government forces launched a military campaign in October to recapture strategic coastal areas. The Houthis had pushed south in September to try to seize Yemen's entire Red Sea coast, and that offensive brought them within reach of Bab el-Mandeb. The escalation broke a 2022 UN-brokered truce.
The fighting has become another front in the wider US-Israeli war on Iran. The Houthis continue to launch attacks on Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude exporter. They have struck Saudi ports, airports and facilities of Saudi Aramco, including the Red Sea oil export hub of Yanbu. Saudi Arabia responded by striking Houthi targets in Yemen.
Taiz remains besieged
Fighting is intensifying around the western region of Taiz, and humanitarian conditions are worsening. The city hosts about half of the 300,000 people displaced across Yemen by the latest fighting. Aid supplies cannot enter, and civilians cannot leave.
Source: Reuters via Investing.com
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