Saudi backed Yemeni forces said on Sunday they were withdrawing from an area overlooking the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, leaving Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in control of the territory.The southern Yemeni forces said they were redeploying towards Aden, where the internationally recognised government is based, Reuters reported.“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 southern forces said in a statement.“This step is 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.”The move comes as the Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa and the country’s most populous areas, step up pressure on southern territories still held by government forces.The withdrawal could give the Houthis greater leverage over one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints, potentially increasing pressure on global shipping at a time when Iran continues to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula.Simultaneous pressure on the two waterways could further restrict Gulf oil producers’ access to their main shipping routes, Reuters reported.The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is a major route for global shipments of commodities and other goods, particularly cargo travelling from Asia to Europe through Egypt’s Suez Canal.
Military campaign and Houthi advances
In October, the Government forces launched a military campaign to recapture strategic coastal areas from the Houthis, who had advanced south in September in an attempt to take control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline. The rapid offensive brought the group within reach of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.The latest escalation has opened another volatile front in the wider US-Israeli war on Iran. The fighting also broke a United Nations-brokered truce that had been in place since 2022.The Houthis have continued attacks on Saudi Arabia, a key US ally and the world’s largest crude oil exporter.The kingdom had experienced relative calm during the early months of the nine-month-old Iran war, but recent Houthi strikes have disrupted flights and oil supplies.The group has targeted Saudi ports, airports and facilities belonging to state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco, including Yanbu, the kingdom’s oil export hub on the Red Sea.Saudi Arabia has responded by striking Houthi targets in Yemen, which has been embroiled in civil war since 2014, when the group pushed the government out of the capital and towards the south.