Yemeni government forces advance against Houthis to secure strategic Red Sea waterway

Yemeni government forces are advancing against the Houthis around the Bab al-Mandab strait but have not yet taken control of the waterway, military sources told news agency AFP on Saturday (Oct 10). The Saudi-backed government announced a counter-offensive last week aimed at retaking all Houthi-held areas. The group had seized Yemen's entire western coastline in a lightning offensive. The sources said Mayun Island, in the heart of the strait, remains in Houthi hands as fighting continues.

The Houthis confirmed that government forces attacked in the Bab al-Mandab area but said they had repelled the assault. Military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Telegram that the group had driven back "Saudi-aligned troop concentrations" advancing from the direction of Lahj towards the strait.

Military sources from both sides told AFP that clashes in western Yemen, particularly around the strait, had killed at least 63 people in the past 24 hours. They said 35 government troops and 28 Houthis had died. AFP noted that the claims of the warring parties could not be independently verified, as the situation is moving fast and journalists have difficulty gaining access.

On Friday (Oct 9), a Yemeni military source within the government confirmed to AFP that forces had launched a "major operation" in the strait region with air support from Saudi Arabia, which backs the government. Riyadh leads an international military coalition helping the government fight the Houthis. Early on Saturday (Oct 10), the coalition said it had destroyed more than 130 Houthi targets in a "large-scale operation". The Houthis' Al-Masirah TV reported that Saudi strikes had hit the Bab al-Mandab area.

Yemen's civil war reignited in July after four years of relative calm, before the Houthi gains along the western coastline. The Houthis are also firing drones and missiles at targets inside Saudi Arabia, including transport hubs, oil facilities and other civilian sites. Riyadh said on Friday (Oct 9) that attacks the previous day on the Saudi capital's international airport had killed three people. Saudi Arabia has retaliated with strikes on key Houthi targets inside Yemen. Houthi media reported on Friday that two people died in attacks on the airport in the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa.

Civilians are bearing the brunt of the renewed fighting in one of the world's poorest countries. According to UN data, more than 200,000 people have been displaced since July.