Yemeni government says it made advances near Bab el-Mandeb Strait — France 24

Military sources from Yemen’s internationally recognized government said its forces had made advances in areas near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. At the same time, they noted that government troops had not yet established control over the waterway.

Yemen’s Saudi-backed government last week announced a counteroffensive aimed at retaking all territories controlled by the Houthis. Before that, the Houthis rapidly seized the country’s entire western coast.

Statements by the sides on the fighting

As France 24 reports, Hizam al-Asad, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau, said Saudi-led forces had attempted to advance from the Ras al-Ara area in Lahj province toward territory south of the strait. According to him, the Houthis repelled the attack outside the Bab el-Mandeb Strait area.

Al-Asad also said that the Houthis control the strait, Mayyun Island and the remaining areas of Yemen’s western coast. Military sources from Yemen’s internationally recognized government confirmed that Mayyun Island, located in the middle of the strait, remains under Houthi control.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

It is impossible to independently verify the sides’ claims because of the rapidly changing situation on the ground and journalists’ limited access to the combat area.

Casualties and airstrikes

According to military sources on both sides, at least 63 people were killed in fighting in western Yemen, including near the strait, over the past 24 hours. According to these data, 35 government forces personnel and 28 Houthis were killed.

On Friday, a Yemeni military source reported the launch of a major operation in the strait area with Saudi air support. On Saturday, the coalition said it had destroyed more than 130 Houthi targets during a large-scale operation. The Houthi television channel Al-Masirah reported strikes in the strait area and four Saudi strikes on the international airport in the capital, Sanaa.

Resumption of the war

After four years of relative calm, Yemen’s civil war escalated again in July, even before the Houthis seized the western coast. According to the UN, more than 200,000 people have been displaced in the country since July because of the renewed fighting.