Thousands forced to flee as Houthis advance on Bab el-Mandeb Strait

The Houthis' latest offensive is meant to replicate Iran's Hormuz blockade in the Bab el-Mandeb, with Red Sea coastal towns and islands in the crucial waterway their top military objectives.

Rapid advance of Iran-backed force threatens key alternative shipping route to Strait of Hormuz.

Houthi fighters reached Perim Island which divides the Bab el-Mandeb into two shipping lanes after government forces withdrew, completing the group's takeover of the strait. Together with Iran's Hormuz blockade, this puts roughly a third of the world's seaborne trade under hostile control.

Global struggle for control of Bab al-Mandab strait threatens to turn Yemen’s on-off conflict into a forever war Violence erupts in Yemen again: why it matters globally and how it is linked to the US-Iran war Saudi Arabia shuts down oil pipeline, blaming drones from Iraq Nearly 50,000 people have fled a sudden advance ...

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have been celebrating after seizing control of the Red Sea coast in a rapid offensive.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced across Yemen in recent days, fleeing the advance of Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Some 1,400 people escaped across the Gulf of Aden to Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa.