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A Yemeni minister warned that the country’s Houthi rebels are plotting to seize land along the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a move that could allow the group to further threaten one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.
Three Houthi military sources and a spokesperson for Yemeni government forces bordering the waterway also told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the rebels were preparing to advance.
Such an assault, if successful, would tighten Houthi control near the vital shipping lane, which the Iran-backed group has disrupted with attacks on passing vessels since the Gaza war began in 2023.
It would also extend the reach of Tehran and its allies to a second strategic waterway in the Middle East after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz during its war with the United States.
Greater Houthi control of Bab al-Mandeb could also threaten oil exports from Saudi Arabia, against which the rebels have announced a maritime blockade.
“The Houthi militia ... is working to create the conditions for seizing control of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait by expanding its presence along the western coast and attempting to control strategic Yemeni islands in the Red Sea,” Yemen’s Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani told AFP.
He said there had been a military buildup by the Houthis and that their plans were reflected in the “repeated targeting of ports, docks, civilian infrastructure, ships, and government naval capabilities.”
The Houthis do not currently control coastal areas directly on the strait, but they hold the key port city of Hodeida to the north and have repeatedly attacked ships in the Red Sea.
In recent weeks, the rebels have launched their deadliest attacks in years on Yemeni government forces.
They have also begun targeting Yemen’s port city of Mokha, which lies close to Bab al-Mandeb, as well as military sites near the strait and government-controlled islands in the Red Sea.
Maj. Gen. Sadeq Duwaid, a spokesman for the government-affiliated National Resistance Forces that control areas bordering the strait, told AFP that the rebels “are striving to secure a foothold in Bab al-Mandeb.”
“Through their continued attacks on Mokha and its port, the Houthi militia seeks to establish a presence along the shores of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and transform the area into a situation resembling that of the Strait of Hormuz,” Duwaid said.
Three Houthi military sources told AFP that the group was preparing to launch an operation to seize areas south of Hodeida.
They said about 2,000 fighters had been deployed to front lines along Yemen’s western coast in the provinces of Taiz and Hodeida, along with rocket launchers.
Yemen’s government-aligned forces said Tuesday that several Houthi fighters were killed and military vehicles destroyed in drone strikes in the southeastern province of Shabwa.
In a statement issued by their media center, the Shabwa Defense Forces said they “carried out a qualitative military operation targeting Houthi positions on the Harib, Ain, Bayhan and Upper Marib fronts.”
The drone units carried out strikes on Houthi-controlled positions, causing human and material losses, including personnel and military vehicles, the statement said.
The forces said the operation came in response to a Houthi drone attack that killed a soldier, without providing further details.
The Houthis did not immediately comment on the statement.
Earlier Tuesday, the Yemeni army said a “large number” of Houthis had been killed or injured in drone strikes it carried out in Taiz province in southwestern Yemen.
Yemen had been under a relative lull since April 2022 after nearly 12 years of war between government forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and the Iranian-backed Houthis, who seized control of the capital, Sanaa, and large parts of the country in 2014.
Since late 2023, after the Gaza war began, the Houthis have become increasingly involved in regional hostilities, launching attacks on Israel and commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
Recent renewed fighting has raised fears of a return to full-scale conflict in Yemen.
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