Houthis fortify Bab al-Mandeb Strait after seizing Yemen’s west coast

Sanaa: The Iran-supported Houthi militia are bolstering their defenses around the crucial Bab al-Mandeb Strait, according to a DPA source. A government official told the news agency that the rebels are constructing trenches to secure ground they recently captured along Yemen’s Red Sea coastline. Last week, the Houthis launched a rapid offensive, claiming all of Yemen’s western coast, which includes strategically positioned islands.

This control gives them virtually unrestricted passage through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the world's busiest shipping lane bridging the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Roughly 10% of global maritime trade and 30% of container traffic typically traverse this vital waterway. However, the strait's traffic plummeted after the militia began targeting ships in 2023, as a retaliation measure to Israel’s ongoing war against Gaza.

Many shipping firms opted for a lengthy and costly alternative route, circumventing the Red Sea via the Cape of Good Hope off South Africa’s coast. Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, is striving to deliver some of its oil through the Red Sea due to the ongoing blockade at the Strait of Hormuz, linked to the ongoing Iran conflict.

Yemen’s internationally recognized government, along with its allies Saudi Arabia and assorted militias, are engaged in a civil war against the Houthis.