Houthis Take Control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait
Sources within the Yemeni government have confirmed that the group backed by Tehran took control of Perim Island, also known as “Mayyun,” after entering the coastal city of Dhubab following the withdrawal of the Yemeni army.
The Houthis took control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait area on Friday after entering Perim Island, also known as Mayyun, located in the middle of the strait, as well as the coastal city of Dhubab, which lies directly opposite the island, according to government sources and eyewitnesses. The advance came after the Houthis received military and intelligence support from Tehran.
A government official, speaking to the media on condition of anonymity, said: “The Houthis currently control the strait following a number of withdrawals by government forces from Perim and Dhubab,” while eyewitnesses reported that the armed men “are deployed along the Bab el-Mandeb coastline and are moving around in military vehicles.”
The significance of this advance stems from the geographic characteristics of Bab el-Mandeb. The strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and then to the Indian Ocean, is not merely a vast stretch of water that can be easily crossed. It is a strategic maritime passage surrounded by land positions and islands that allow whoever controls them to monitor and threaten maritime traffic.
This is where the importance of Mayyun Island, also known as Perim, becomes particularly evident. Located within the strait, the island divides it into two passages. Controlling it gives any military force an advanced position at the heart of the maritime route, while control of the opposite Yemeni coastline, particularly the Dhubab area, makes it possible to establish what amounts to a military pincer around one of the most important maritime passages between Asia and Europe.
For this reason, Houthi control of the island, if confirmed and consolidated, would mean more than simply possessing a small piece of territory. It would give the group the ability to deploy weapons, surveillance and reconnaissance assets close to shipping lanes and threaten vessels passing through the strait.
Yemeni media reported on Friday that airstrikes had targeted Houthi positions in the city of Mokha, in Taiz Governorate in the southwestern part of the country.
The independent newspaper Sama Aden reported that “strikes targeted positions believed to be used by the Houthi militias to deploy their personnel and assemble their military vehicles at the city’s airport and port.” Meanwhile, the Houthi-affiliated Saba News Agency reported briefly that “Saudi aircraft” had carried out two strikes on Mokha airport, without providing details on their outcome.
Residents were quoted as saying that the previous hours had witnessed the displacement of numerous families from the city of Mokha toward the southern Yemeni governorates of Lahj and Aden, amid difficult humanitarian conditions caused by the sudden displacement.
On Thursday, the Houthi movement announced that it had taken control of the cities of Hays and Al-Khokha in Hodeidah Governorate, as well as the strategic city of Mokha, located near Bab el-Mandeb in western Taiz Governorate, following clashes with government forces.
While the Yemeni army announced the launch of an intense firepower operation against Houthi military movements in and around Mokha, the group said that clashes in the western coastal districts had ceased.
For its part, the Houthi movement renewed its ballistic missile attacks on Friday against the coastal area of Ras al-Ara in Lahj Governorate, southern Yemen, near Bab el-Mandeb.
These developments coincided with reports by Yemeni media that the Houthis had taken control of the strategic island of Zoqor in the Red Sea, while government warnings intensified over the risks posed by the group’s movements to Red Sea security and freedom of international navigation.
The western coastal region is of strategic importance because of its extensive coastline along the Red Sea and its proximity to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s major international maritime passages.
Commenting on these developments, the Yemeni National Defense Council stressed on Thursday that any Houthi territorial advance was “temporary” and would not become a permanent political or geographical reality. The statement followed a meeting chaired by Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi, president of the Presidential Leadership Council and supreme commander of the armed forces, attended by members of the council and senior officials, according to the media center of the Yemeni forces.
The map of territorial control in Yemen has undergone changes in recent days, as fighting between government forces and the Houthis has intensified since the beginning of last July, following several years of relative calm.
The Houthis took control of the entire Hodeidah Governorate after entering the areas of Hays and Al-Khokha. They also advanced westward in Taiz Governorate and captured cities overlooking the Red Sea, including Mokha, eventually reaching Bab el-Mandeb.
Meanwhile, government forces made advances in Al-Jawf Governorate and approached the city of Al-Hazm, the governorate capital, while fighting continues on the fronts of Marib, Al-Bayda and Al-Dhale.
These developments are part of the broadest wave of escalation Yemen has witnessed since 2022, when a United Nations-brokered truce was established, before the process stalled and military clashes resumed in July of last year.
For several weeks, military clashes between government forces and the Houthis have intensified on several fronts, particularly in the governorates of Taiz, Al-Jawf and Al-Bayda, alongside airstrikes targeting the group’s positions.
Yemen has been at war since the Houthis seized control of the capital, Sanaa, and several governorates in September 2014, before an Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
