Yemeni Government Forces Advance Towards Bab el-Mandeb Strait

AFP

Yemen government soldiers ride in a pick-up truck near the Jabal Han front, west of the city of Taiz, on 3 October 2026.

Yemeni government forces seized key positions overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Monday, Reuters reported, citing military and government sources, as they sought to reverse recent gains by the Houthis and push them away from the vital waterway.

Government forces have captured large parts of Dhubab district, which overlooks the Bab el-Mandeb, and are working to establish full control of the area with extensive air support from a Saudi-led coalition, three military sources and a government source told Reuters.

Houthi-aligned media earlier denied that government forces had made advances in the area, describing the reports as “completely untrue”.

Meanwhile, Houthi forces advanced late on Sunday along sections of the mountain road leading to the major city of Taiz, besieging government forces there, according to five government sources. Another government source denied that the road had been cut.

Fighting has intensified along several frontlines in Yemen in recent weeks after the country’s dormant civil war was reignited amid the wider US-Iran conflict. The Houthis have sought to gain control of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait while launching missiles and drones at Saudi cities and infrastructure.

With Gulf energy exports already disrupted by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the fighting in Yemen has threatened another major oil-export route, contributing to higher global prices and increasing risks in an already volatile region.

The internationally recognised Yemeni government announced on Sunday the launch of an offensive to recapture territory, with President Rashad al-Alimi vowing to fight “until the country is liberated from the grip of the terrorist militia”.

Saudi Arabia, which arms and trains Yemeni government forces, is supporting the campaign with air power and has sought logistical assistance from allies to push back the Houthis, restore the free movement of shipping through the Red Sea and end attacks on Saudi territory.

Riyadh said on Monday that it had struck hundreds of targets in Yemen to provide air support for operations around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and for Yemeni ground forces.

The Yemeni government said it had launched attacks on several fronts, including in Sanaa province, where the capital is located.

While fighting has intensified along several frontlines, the heaviest clashes have taken place in southwestern Yemen, both in the coastal areas near the strait and in the hills surrounding Taiz, where the Houthis have been seeking to encircle government forces.

Last week, Houthi attacks damaged a culvert on the Taiz-Aden road, rendering it impassable.

On Sunday night, Houthi fighters made further advances into the town of al-Turbah, located on a high promontory along the road, according to five government military sources. Another government source denied the claim.

A Houthi-run news agency, meanwhile, cited a military source on Monday as saying that Houthi forces had driven government troops from al-Mawasit district in Taiz province and reached the home of Alimi, who heads Yemen’s interim Presidential Leadership Council.

Yemen’s conflict began after the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year with an air campaign aimed at restoring the government and ousting the Iran-backed group.

The fighting soon descended into a bloody stalemate, with most frontlines largely frozen and the conflict contributing to a major humanitarian crisis in what was already the Arab world’s poorest country. A ceasefire agreed in 2022 held until this summer.

Source: Reuters



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