Houthi fighters have completed their takeover of the Bab al-Mandab region after deploying to the strategic islands of Mayyun and Perim in the middle of the strait, according to Yemeni officials.
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A government official said that "boats piloted by Houthi militants arrived on Mayyun Island after government forces withdrew from it yesterday."
Witnesses said that Houthi militants “are deployed along the Bab al-Mandab coast and have military vehicles that they use to patrol.”
Four Yemeni government sources said that the Houthis arrived early Friday on the strategic island of Perim, located at the entrance to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, following the withdrawal of government forces.
This move represents the group's most significant advance to date towards controlling this vital shipping waterway.
Controlling the island and the coastal city of Dhubab – which lies directly opposite it and which the Houthis entered earlier on Friday, according to two sources – is essential to controlling the strait.
A Yemeni government source confirmed on Friday that the Houthi group had taken full control of Mayyun Island, located at the southern entrance to the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The source said that “the Houthi militia has taken control of Mayyun Island, as well as the islands of Hanish and Zuqar and the entire Dhubab area.”
The source added that the joint forces are currently present in the Al-Saqiya area, which belongs to the Al-Mudharabah and Ras Al-Arah Directorate in Lahj Governorate, southern Yemen, following the recent field developments in the Bab Al-Mandab area and the western coast.
The source explained that the Houthis launched a missile attack on the joint forces’ positions in Ras al-Ara, resulting in casualties, without mentioning further details.
The source said that the Houthis captured more than 200 members of the joint forces after they seized control of Hanish Island.
Another source, who preferred not to reveal his identity, said that the group launched seven ballistic missiles towards the Ras al-Ara district (which is under government control) in Lahj province.
Mayyun Island enjoys a highly strategic location due to its position at the heart of the maritime corridor linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.
Mayyun Island enjoys a highly strategic location due to its location at the heart of the maritime corridor that connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.
Bab al-Mandab connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and is one of the most important international maritime routes, through which a large volume of global trade and energy supplies pass between Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal.
Control of Mayyun gives strategic leverage over the southern entrance to the strait, making the development of importance that extends beyond the Yemeni arena to the security of navigation and international trade in the Red Sea.
Yemeni government forces indicated they would try to retake areas seized by the Houthis in their surprise attack this week along the Red Sea coast.
It announced that it would deploy weapons and aircraft to eliminate any Houthi movements in strategic areas, including the road leading to the coastal city of Mocha, as well as the Hanish Islands in the Red Sea.
Colonel Majid al-Nuzaili, the military spokesman for the internationally recognized Yemeni government forces, called on civilians to avoid using the road between the cities of Taiz and Mocha and to stay away from Houthi equipment.
On the west coast and most battlefronts, local residents reported a cautious calm for hours, the day after the Houthis seized vital centers, including the strategic city of Mocha.
Residents said that the western coast front had not witnessed any field developments in the past few hours, while many families were displaced from the city of Mocha towards the governorates of Lahj and Aden in southern Yemen.
Residents added that some displaced families are facing difficult humanitarian conditions as a result of the sudden displacement.
Raids on Mocha and Bab al-Mandab
In contrast, the Houthi group said that Saudi aircraft launched two raids on Al-Mukha airport in Taiz province, southwest Yemen.
The briefly that “Saudi aircraft” launched two raids on Mocha Airport, without mentioning the results.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia regarding the report by the Houthi-affiliated agency.
The “Coalition airstrikes (the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen) are targeting Houthi militias on the western coast and Bab al-Mandab.”
They added: “Airstrikes targeted Houthi positions and gatherings in the port and airport of Mocha,” without specifying the source of those strikes.
She quoted field sources as saying that the raids “targeted sites believed to be used by the Houthi militias to station their members and assemble their military vehicles.”
These developments come two days after the “Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen” announced that the Houthis had launched attacks with ballistic missiles and drones towards the cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha and Jazan in southern Saudi Arabia.
He indicated that the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition “will deal with these attacks responsibly to protect the sovereignty of the Kingdom and its national assets, and to protect civilians and civilian objects from these heinous attacks.”
The Houthi group had seized control on Thursday of the cities of Hays and Khokha in Hodeidah Governorate, in addition to the strategic city of Mocha near Bab al-Mandab, west of Taiz Governorate, following the withdrawal of the joint forces led by Tariq Saleh, Vice President of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council.
The International Organization for Migration reported on Friday that at least 46,000 people have been displaced since fighting resumed last week.The UN agency said in a statement that “at least 46,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since fighting escalated last week,” noting that the number is “increasing alarmingly by the hour.”
This figure, which is based on data up to Thursday, includes the western coastal governorates and Taiz, according to the UN organization, which had already counted about 20,000 displaced people on Tuesday.
An advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei praised the Houthi advance in Yemen, describing it as a “resounding victory.”
In this context, the Iranian Foreign Ministry, in a statement regarding developments in Yemen, stressed “the need to respect Yemen’s independence, national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to end the illegal and inhumane blockade imposed on it,” according to the official Iranian news agency IRNA.
The respecting Yemen’s independence, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity, and ending the illegal and inhumane blockade imposed on it. There is no doubt that security and stability in West Asia and the Red Sea region will not be achieved without respecting the rights and dignity of the great Yemeni people.”
The statement affirmed: “What is happening now in Yemen cannot be separated from events that occurred more than a decade ago. The great and noble Yemeni people, as heirs to an ancient and illustrious civilization that has always played a crucial and honorable role in the history of the region and the world, have the right to live in dignity, free from pressure, intimidation and unjust blockade, and for their national sovereignty and territorial integrity to be fully respected.”The ministry added that Iran “emphasizes the need to pay attention to the interests of the Islamic nation, especially in light of the evils, brutality and unprecedented expansion by Israel in collusion with America in the West Asia region, and reminds the Islamic Republic of Iran that resolving the issues related to Yemen is not possible through the continuation of the blockade and military intervention.”
Iran also stresses “the need to resume dialogue immediately based on the agreed roadmap and to implement its provisions, and it is ready to make every good effort in this regard.”
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