Yemeni forces push Houthis back from key Red Sea shipping route

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Yemeni forces regain Bab el-Mandeb

Highlights

Government forces retook positions around Bab el-Mandeb.
The offensive reached the outskirts of Mocha.
Shipping risks remain despite the coastal advance.

Government forces, supported by Saudi airstrikes, reached the outskirts of Mocha late Monday after securing positions around Dhubab at the entrance to the strait, Reuters reported. Yemen's Defense Ministry said Mocha had fallen, while four government sources described Houthi fighters retreating toward the highlands. The Houthis rejected the government's account.

Government forces push along the Red Sea coast

The operation reverses much of the territorial advance the Houthis made along the coast last month. Government troops had already regained an airstrip in Dhubab, whose earlier capture by the Houthis raised concerns about their ability to threaten vessels entering or leaving the Red Sea.

Saudi-led naval forces also carried out an operation in Hodeidah province as fighting spread across western Yemen. Control of the coast matters because Bab el-Mandeb connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, placing vessels traveling between the Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean within reach of positions on the Yemeni shore.

Even if government forces consolidate the coastal gains, the threat to commercial shipping would not disappear. The Houthis retain the ability to launch drones and missiles from positions farther inland.

Fighting intensifies around Taiz

The government gains on the coast have been accompanied by Houthi advances around Taiz. Military sources said Houthi forces had taken sections of a mountain road and increased pressure on government-held areas, although accounts of whether the route had been completely severed differed.

The renewed war has also accelerated displacement. The U.N. migration agency said 184,000 people have been displaced since fighting resumed.

The conflict is increasingly drawing in Saudi Arabia. The Houthis claimed attacks on several Saudi locations, including an Aramco refinery in Rabigh and airports in Riyadh and Abha. Those claims had not been independently verified. Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan also agreed to deploy military capabilities in Saudi Arabia under their joint defense framework.

Oil edges higher as shipping risks persist

Oil prices rose modestly Tuesday as the fighting around Bab el-Mandeb kept disruption risks in focus, while recovering Gulf exports and emergency stock releases limited the advance.

Latest market data showed Brent December futures at $100.73 a barrel, up 0.41%, while WTI November futures traded at $89.70, up 0.30%. Gulf oil flows excluding Iran recovered to more than 81% of prewar levels in September, while crude and condensate exports reached 91% of their earlier rate.

The recovery provides some protection against immediate shortages, but the two major Gulf shipping corridors remain exposed to conflict. Control of the Bab el-Mandeb coast can reduce risks along the Red Sea route, yet continued drone and missile capabilities mean the security of commercial traffic will depend on more than territorial control.

Earlier, we reported that Saudi Aramco estimates timeline for rebuilding global oil inventories.

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