Houthis Move to Strengthen Hold Near Bab al-Mandab as Yemen Clashes Leave 129 Dead
SANAA, Yemen — Yemen’s Houthis launched a major offensive near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, killing more than 120 people in intense fighting and raising new concerns over one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints, sources told AFP.
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The clashes began Thursday when the Iran-backed rebels attacked government-held positions in a ground assault supported by rocket and drone strikes along Yemen’s Red Sea coast.
The operation appeared designed to expand the Houthis’ foothold near Bab al-Mandab, the narrow passage connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and a key corridor for international shipping.
Military sources told AFP that the rebels were attempting to isolate the government-held port city of Mokha, which has faced pressure for weeks, while pushing towards territory bordering the strategically important strait.
A military source and a Taiz official, both speaking anonymously, said the Houthis had seized high ground overlooking government positions near the Red Sea and around the inland city of Taiz.
Control of those elevated positions could provide the rebels with a significant military advantage and enable them to threaten vessels using the nearby shipping corridor, the sources said.
By Friday, the death toll from the fighting had climbed to 129, according to an AFP tally based on figures from several sources. The previous reported toll was 81.
A Yemeni military official said 66 government fighters had died. Medical and military sources aligned with the Houthis reported that at least 62 rebel fighters had also been killed.
The figures could not be independently verified.
The escalation follows more than a decade of civil war in Yemen and comes amid renewed regional tensions involving the Houthis, the internationally recognised government and their foreign supporters.
Since the Gaza war began in 2023, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting a route linking the Mediterranean and Europe with the Indian Ocean and Asia.
Those attacks have prompted many commercial ships to avoid the waterway and sail around Africa’s southern tip, adding time and expense to global trade.
The Red Sea’s strategic importance has grown as maritime traffic faces broader regional disruption, including tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, another vital global shipping chokepoint.
The latest Houthi assault has renewed fears about the security of Bab al-Mandab, a passage used to transport a substantial share of global trade.
Yemen’s war began with the Houthis’ seizure of the capital Sanaa in 2014, pitting the rebels against government forces supported by a Saudi-led coalition.
A truce agreed in 2022 sharply reduced major combat, but the country’s warring sides have yet to reach a comprehensive political settlement.
The Houthis still control extensive areas of northern and western Yemen, while government forces and allied factions maintain control elsewhere.
Continued fighting along the Red Sea coast risks deepening Yemen’s instability and could produce consequences beyond the country’s borders if the Houthis expand their military presence around Bab al-Mandab.
The strait is regarded as essential to global maritime commerce, meaning prolonged disruption could threaten shipping, energy supplies and regional security.
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