Yemeni government forces said on Monday they had retaken key positions near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the narrow waterway at the southern end of the Red Sea, as they opened a push to reverse recent Houthi gains. CNN has not independently verified the claim.
Military spokesperson Majid al-Nuzaili wrote on X that the forces “have succeeded in controlling Bab al-Mandeb” and had won back a road linking Dhubab district to the port town of Mocha. He added that a strategic offensive against the Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, had begun. The Houthi-run Saba News Agency called the reported gains “fictitious” and an “attempt to cover up repeated failures and defeats.”
Why the strait matters
Early in September, the Houthis seized a stretch of Yemen’s Red Sea coast as far south as the strait and said Saudi shipping using it would be targeted. The Red Sea has grown more important as an export route since the Iran war severely disrupted traffic through Hormuz. Houthi attacks on Saudi oil exports diverted that way could push prices higher still, weeks before the US midterm elections.
Yemeni analyst Fatima Alasrar called the fighting “absolutely significant.” Her verdict on X: “The Houthi coastal momentum is broken.”
Saudi Arabia in the fight
The Saudi-led coalition promised full support to the internationally recognized government. Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said it destroyed 324 high-value targets as the operation, called “Dawn of Yemen,” began, with 100 fighter jets taking part. Houthi-controlled forces said Saudi Arabia carried out 106 air and missile strikes in 24 hours.
The Houthis say they struck back at Aramco facilities on Sunday, then claimed attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Abha International Airport and Aramco again on Monday. Saudi authorities did not immediately respond. The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia warned American citizens of possible drone and missile attacks, and Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan agreed to move ahead with collective defense measures under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement after an emergency meeting in Riyadh.
The human cost
Tens of thousands of people have already left their homes. The World Food Program said last week that three in four families in parts of Yemen are going hungry. The Houthi-run Health Ministry said at least 83 civilians had been killed and 146 wounded since the offensive began, 60% of them children. CNN could not verify those figures.
Elsewhere, the Houthis claimed to have taken a highway linking Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, with the government seat in Aden.
Yemen’s war began in March 2015. The UN counted 377,000 deaths by the end of 2021, from direct and indirect causes. A 2022 UN-brokered truce brought relative calm until fighting surged again in August.
