The fight for one of the planet’s most important shipping lanes just went full throttle. Forces of the Saudi-led coalition recaptured several key areas around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait from Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Monday, Yemeni officials told the Associated Press.
Government-allied forces retook the crucial town of Dhubab just north of the strait and also captured Bab and Hadeid, officials said; witnesses saw government tanks rolling in. Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said 100 fighter jets were backing the offensive, that the coalition had secured “air protection” of the strait, and that it had destroyed hundreds of Houthi targets.
Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council chief Rashad al-Alimi branded the operation “Yemen Dawn” and said the goal is “liberating” rebel-held Sanaa. The Houthis reported multiple coalition airstrikes, including on the capital. The push came right after the rebels seized the town of Turbah on Sunday, cutting a main road between Taiz and Aden.
Washington’s fingerprints? Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Saudis “have a right to defend themselves” but wouldn’t detail coordination. A regional official and a U.S. official told AP that U.S. support included intelligence sharing, target identification and planning for the offensive.
Why you should care: the Houthis’ September land grab — including the city of Mokha and several Red Sea islands — gave them the Yemeni side of a chokepoint that carries 12% of global trade. The flare-up since mid-July has killed at least 959 people and wounded more than 4,200, per the WHO, and displaced about 174,097 people inside Yemen, per the U.N. migration agency.
Sources: Associated Press via PBS News
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