Yemen’s Houthis took over on Friday a Red Sea island in the middle of the Bab al-Mandeb shipping lane, completing their push to control the area, a local government official and eyewitnesses told AFP.
Hundreds of people have died since the Iran-backed Houthis launched last week an offensive against Riyadh-backed Yemeni government forces around Bab al-Mandab.
Hundreds of people have died since the Iran-backed Houthis launched last week an offensive against Riyadh-backed Yemeni government forces around Bab al-Mandab. They said they were unsure about the status of their troops, which number more than 2,000, but believe the Houthis have ordered them to surrender.
“Boats carrying armed Houthi fighters reached Mayyun Island after government forces withdrew from it yesterday,” the official said, referring to an island also known as Perim that divides the strait into lanes. An eyewitness said gunmen were “deploying along the Bab al-Mandab shore and are driving around in military vehicles”. The local government official said the number of fighters on Mayyun is “not large”, adding that they would probably opt to deploy on hills overlooking Bab al-Mandab. Government military sources told AFP that the Houthis have besieged government troops on the Hanish islands.
