Zürcher Nachrichten - Yemen's Houthis complete takeover of Bab al-Mandab area: govt official to AFP

The Iran-backed Houthis, who have for years controlled large parts of northern Yemen, launched a large-scale offensive last week against Saudi-backed government forces, scoring one victory after another in fighting that has left hundreds dead.

Saudi Arabia has responded with dozens of airstrikes, with the latest two hitting Mocha airport, Houthi media reported on Friday.

The fighting in Yemen has taken centre-stage in the Middle East war, which erupted with US-Israeli strikes on Iran and prompted the Islamic republic to blockade another waterway crucial to global energy flows, the Strait of Hormuz.

"Boats carrying armed Houthi fighters reached Mayyun Island after government forces withdrew from it yesterday," the local government official told AFP, referring to an island also known as Perim.

"The Houthis have completed their takeover of the Bab al-Mandab area and Mayyun Island, which is located in the middle of the strait," he added, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity.

An eyewitness said gunmen were "deploying along the Bab al-Mandab shore and are driving around in military vehicles".

Bab al-Mandab links Asia to Europe via the Red Sea and Suez Canal. It has gained importance as a transit route crucially for oil flows from Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, since the start of the Middle East war.

On Friday, both Brent North Sea Crude, the main international benchmark, and US oil contract WTI were above $100.

- 'Apocalyptic' -

Before the offensive, the Houthis already controlled a large part of Yemen's north, including the capital Sanaa, as well as the major port city of Hodeidah on the Red Sea.

But they did not yet hold any areas directly overlooking Bab al-Mandab.

With their drones and missiles, the Houthis have been able to disrupt traffic in the Red Sea.

While Saudi Arabia has hit back with airstrikes, it has failed to stop the Houthis' lightning advance.

"I think the Saudis have tried everything they can to avoid this war, but I don't think they have any more choice by now," said Farea Al-Muslimi, a research fellow at the Chatham House think tank.

"The Houthis have pushed it to the limit, and whatever the cost in the Saudi mind thinking right now, it's just cheaper than it will be in two years."

Since last week, the fighting in Yemen has left more than 500 dead, mostly combatants, according to an AFP tally compiled from several sources.

It has also forced nearly 20,000 people to flee their homes, the International Organization for Migration said on Tuesday.

Mohamed, a 46-year-old Yemeni, who left Mocha in the middle of the night, told AFP there was an "apocalyptic" atmosphere in the port city.

Mujahid Tahami, who also set off for Aden, said some families had fallen victim to "looting by gangs as they tried to flee".

- Humanitarian crisis -

Yemen relapsed into war in July after years of relative calm punctured by sporadic violence and deepening poverty.

On Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis said the group fired ballistic missiles and drones at several cities in southern Saudi Arabia.

On Thursday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Saudi Arabia had launched 64 strikes on Yemen over the previous 24 hours.

The United Nations Security Council met Thursday to discuss the conflict with its Yemen envoy, Hans Grundberg, who called for "the active investment of every member of this body to contain what could be the precipice for a far more dangerous conflict".

The emergency meeting was brought together by the United Kingdom, which called on the Security Council to "send a clear and consistent message: the Houthis must de-escalate, cease their attacks, and return to a path towards peace".

The hostilities kicked off in July when the Houthis let an Iranian plane land in defiance of Saudi control of Yemeni airspace.

The government retaliated by striking Sanaa airport, an attack the Houthis blamed on Saudi Arabia.

The ongoing exchanges risk returning Yemen to a conflict that left hundreds of thousands of people dead and sparked one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The Houthis, after seizing Yemen's capital and forcing out the government, fought the Saudi-led coalition from 2015 until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire in 2022.

W.F.Portman--NZN