Photo: The Bab el-Mandeb Strait between Djibouti and Yemen. Credit: U.S. Department of Defense / Wikimedia Commons (public domain).
Yemen's Saudi-backed government forces have withdrawn from the area overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, handing the Iran-aligned Houthis control of one of the world's most important shipping chokepoints, in a major setback for the government and a sharp escalation of the nine-month-old regional war.
The Southern Armed Forces, which fight for Yemen's internationally recognised government, announced on Sunday that they were carrying out a redeployment from Dhubab Airport and the Bab el-Mandeb area, west of Taiz Governorate, and falling back toward Aden, where the government is based.
"The Southern Armed Forces announce the implementation of a redeployment operation for its forces from Dhubab Airport and the Bab el-Mandeb area, west of Taiz Governorate," the forces said in a statement, adding that the move was taken "based on the priority of securing the capital, Aden, and the neighbouring governorates, as well as strengthening the front lines and addressing existing threats."
A Chokepoint Now in Houthi Hands
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the narrow passage between Yemen and Djibouti at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, is one of the busiest routes for global seaborne trade, carrying commodity and goods shipments between Asia and Europe via Egypt's Suez Canal.
The government's retreat hands the Houthis greater leverage over that maritime chokepoint, creating a potent new pressure point on global shipping at the same time that Iran continues to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula. The two straits together frame the Gulf's oil exports: Hormuz at the exit from the Gulf, Bab el-Mandeb at the exit from the Red Sea.
The Houthis already control much of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa and the country's most populous areas, and have been increasing pressure on the southern areas that remain under government control.
A Campaign That Reversed in Weeks
The withdrawal reverses gains the government claimed only last month, when its forces said they had recaptured the Dhubab area overlooking the sea lane and the strategic port city of Mokha.
Government forces launched a military campaign in October to retake the strategic coastal areas after the Houthis pushed south in September in an attempt to seize control of Yemen's entire Red Sea coast. That lightning offensive brought the Houthis within reach of Bab el-Mandeb — and on Sunday, the government conceded the ground around it.
The fighting broke a 2022 United Nations-brokered truce and opened another volatile front in the wider US-Israeli war on Iran, now in its ninth month.
Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia Intensify
The Houthis have stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia, a key US ally and the world's biggest crude exporter, in recent days. A Saudi-led coalition said on Sunday it had intercepted two Houthi ballistic missiles launched toward the Saudi capital Riyadh and three drones in the kingdom's oil-rich Eastern Province.
Houthi attacks have disrupted flights and oil supplies in the kingdom, striking Saudi ports, airports and facilities of state oil company Saudi Aramco, including an administrative building last week. Saudi Arabia has ramped up airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in response.
The Bab el-Mandeb withdrawal now gives the Houthis a second lever over energy shipping, alongside the attacks on Saudi infrastructure: control of the strait itself, through which much of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes on its way between the Gulf and Europe.
What Happens Next
Neither the Houthis nor their backers in Tehran have publicly commented on the withdrawal. The key question now is whether the Houthis use their new position overlooking the strait to threaten shipping directly, as they did during the Red Sea crisis, or hold it as leverage while the wider war over Iran continues.
For Washington, the development adds another front to manage: the United States is already contending with Iranian disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, Houthi missile fire at its Saudi ally, and a peace process for Ukraine that its envoys are trying to advance at the same time. The Bab el-Mandeb pullback shows that, nine months into the regional war, the Houthis are gaining ground rather than losing it.
Sources: Reuters, The National, FirstPost.