AL-MUKALLA: The Houthi militia’s arrival at Bab Al-Mandab constitutes a global threat to freedom of maritime navigation, international trade and the flow of energy supplies, the official spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces said on Thursday.
The warning came after Houthi forces seized the west coast, threatening Bab Al-Mandab, giving the Iran-backed group a new foothold on the Red Sea close to one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.
The spokesperson said regional and international powers would not allow the Houthis to take control of Bab Al-Mandab and repeat what has happened in the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement has placed renewed focus on the strategic significance of the region and on what the Houthi advance could mean for commercial shipping, maritime security and efforts to intercept weapons and other illicit shipments along Yemen’s western coast.
The battle is therefore about far more than control over another piece of territory in Yemen’s long-running war.
For years, the waters off western Yemen have been a front line not only in the country’s conflict but also in international efforts to protect commercial vessels, intercept alleged Iranian weapons shipments and combat smuggling.
The area had served as the main base of the National Resistance Forces commanded by Presidential Leadership Council member Tareq Saleh, whose forces developed military bases, naval units and other infrastructure there after splitting from the Houthis following the killing of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2017. Those naval forces operated across the Red Sea and around Yemeni islands controlled by the internationally recognized government.
Following the Houthi advance, Saleh ordered his forces along the western coast to regroup in new positions.
The withdrawal leaves the Houthis with a stronger presence on a coastline directly connected to Bab Al-Mandab — and potentially a new means of exerting pressure on vessels passing through the Red Sea.
The Yemeni military spokesperson said empowering and supporting Yemen’s legitimate government to bring the Houthi project to an end was the only way to eliminate the threat posed by the group and ensure the success of international efforts to combat terrorism and piracy.
It warned that failure to deter the Houthis would constitute a victory for what it described as the Iranian project in the region, while encouraging other terrorist organizations to adopt a similar approach.
The spokesperson also said that eliminating the Houthis would prevent them from rebuilding advanced military capabilities that could threaten regional and global security.
Bab Al-Mandab is not simply a Yemeni security issue. The strait connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, making stability around it essential to ships moving between the wider Indian Ocean and the Suez Canal.
That means disruption along Yemen’s western coast can have consequences far beyond the country itself.
The strategic importance of the region comes partly from its geography. The area is located on a promontory extending into the Red Sea, allowing vessels using the international shipping route to be seen directly from shore.
Col. Abdul Basit Al-Baher, a Yemeni military official in Taiz, told Arab News that Houthi control of such a position could change the nature of the threat facing shipping.
“They can now target the international shipping route with light or medium weapons, rather than missiles,” he said.
“The port is situated on a peninsula extending toward the international shipping lane, allowing ships to be clearly seen with the naked eye.”
That proximity makes security along this stretch of coast particularly important.
A threat to shipping does not necessarily require control of the entire Bab Al-Mandab Strait. A hostile armed presence close enough to monitor or threaten vessels can itself increase uncertainty around one of the world’s vital maritime arteries.
The Houthi advance followed an offensive launched west of Taiz earlier this month. The group initially attacked government forces using missiles, drones and mortar fire before advancing on the ground.
From the outset, Yemeni military commanders and analysts warned that the objective appeared to be the road linking Taiz with Mokha. Capturing it would isolate Taiz from the Red Sea.
Houthi forces seized positions along the Al-Kadaha road, intensified attacks elsewhere in western Taiz.
The advance transformed what had initially appeared to be another battle between the Houthis and the Yemeni government into a development with potentially wider implications for regional maritime security.
For the Houthis, the area would provide both a military gain and greater access to the Red Sea. For the internationally recognized government, its loss removes an important position from which it had sought to limit Houthi activity along the coast.
The consequences extend beyond the possibility of attacks on commercial vessels.
Government coast guard units and naval forces affiliated with the National Resistance had used the area as a base for intercepting shipments carrying weapons to the Houthis. They had also sought to combat human trafficking, drug smuggling and other illicit activity in the Red Sea.
Al-Baher said those forces had now withdrawn south to Dhubab, near Bab Al-Mandab. He warned that their departure could create new opportunities for smuggling networks.
“All forms of smuggling — involving illicit goods, narcotics, weapons and contraband — will return, as will the targeting of ships and international shipping,” he said.
Control of nearby islands is another concern. National Resistance naval forces had maintained a presence around parts of the Red Sea, including the Hanish Archipelago and Zuqar Island.
Their withdrawal from strategic positions could give the Houthis an opportunity to expand their influence offshore as well as along the mainland coastline. Such an expansion would further strengthen their position around maritime traffic passing through the region.
The battle therefore raises a larger question: Who is capable of guaranteeing security along Yemen’s Red Sea coast?
Until now, government-aligned naval and coast guard forces had used the area and nearby islands as part of efforts to monitor the coastline and intercept illicit shipments.
Their retreat has weakened that presence just as the Houthis have expanded toward one of the region’s most sensitive waterways.
The immediate consequences will depend on what the Houthis do next. They could consolidate their hold, expand south toward Bab Al-Mandab or attempt to extend their influence over strategically located Red Sea islands.
The Yemeni military spokesperson said the redeployment of troops along the western coast was part of the wider battle against the Houthis and argued that their movement into open areas could create opportunities for Yemeni forces to target them.
“Drawing the Houthi militia into open areas would make it easier for the Yemeni Armed Forces to target and eliminate its members,” the spokesperson said.
Each possibility would increase the importance of what happens along a coastline that connects a Yemeni battlefield to an international shipping corridor.
For the wider region, the stakes are high The security of Bab Al-Mandab affects not only Yemen but also the Red Sea, the Suez Canal and international maritime traffic.
That is why the battle for western Yemen cannot be viewed solely as another front in the country’s war. A safe and secure Bab Al-Mandab ultimately depends on stability around it — and the Houthi advance has made that stability considerably more uncertain.
