Trump lets Saudi Arabia fend for itself as the Houthis disrupt Red Sea oil flow

The conflict in Yemen has intensified, with government forces launching attacks against Iran-backed Houthi rebels along the Red Sea. The Houthis have also fired into neighboring Saudi Arabia, which supports Yemen's government. According to the Hindustan Times, the Yemeni government has vowed to send more forces to the Red Sea coast after conceding a "painful" defeat last week when Houthis captured the port city of Mokha and an island on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The United Nations estimates that more than 80,000 people have been displaced by the fighting since the start of September. A woman who fled from the town of Khawkha in Hodeida province described a horrific scene of cars and buses burning, and bodies of children and women lying on the road. The Houthis have claimed attacks against Saudi Arabia, with Saudi authorities sounding sirens in the southern city of Abha and Khamis Mushait province.

The US has effectively handed Saudi Arabia responsibility for solving its Houthi problem, according to Haaretz. This has left Saudi Arabia to choose between another war and recognizing the Houthi force in Yemen. The Saudi kingdom's decision could affect the future of the entire region.

Brief written by urgent.news from Haaretz, Hindustan Times - World News, Gulf News — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.