Houthis Advance Towards Bab el-Mandeb, Claim New Attacks On Saudi Arabia: Why It Matters

Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have claimed new missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia after making rapid territorial gains along Yemen's Red Sea coast, including capturing the key port city of Mokha and an island near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The advance has raised fresh concerns over shipping through the strategic waterway and the wider regional conflict.

What Happened In Yemen And Saudi Arabia?

Houthis claimed they targeted a Saudi military base in Sharurah province. They provided no evidence or timing for the claimed attack. Saudi civil defence said a projectile fell in al-Tawwal near the Yemen border, injuring two people and damaging a mosque and other buildings. Sirens also sounded in Sharurah, but Saudi authorities reported no casualties or damage there.

More importantly, Houthis have rapidly advanced along Yemen's Red Sea coast. They captured Mokha, about 80 km from Bab el-Mandeb. They also captured Mayun/Perim Island, which sits inside the strategic strait.

Their missile/drone attack is a Houthi claim; the Saudi projectile incident is separately confirmed by Saudi civil defence.

Why Is The Houthi Advance Important For Shipping?

Bab el-Mandeb is a crucial shipping route linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and provides an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz. The Houthis' territorial gains bring them closer to controlling or threatening traffic through the waterway. Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on Red Sea routes because Hormuz has been disrupted. The Houthis have declared a blockade against Saudi shipping.

Shipping through Bab el-Mandeb had already fallen significantly because of Houthi attacks. Renewed Houthi threats could further disrupt Saudi oil exports and international shipping.

Oil has risen above $100 a barrel, according to AP.

Houthis’ capture of Mayun gives them a much stronger position around it, while Mokha puts them roughly 80 km away. AP describes Mayun as being inside the strait. The escalation has also displaced more than 85,000 people since the beginning of September, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Sultan al-Arada, a member of Yemen’s ruling Presidential Council and governor of the central Marib province, said the government forces’ defeat in the port city of Mokha and other areas along the country’s western coast was “painful and regrettable”. In a televised interview broadcast late Saturday, he said the forces were regrouping and would return to fighting “in one form or another”, as per Associated Press.