81 killed as Yemen's Houthis push towards key Red Sea strait

Clashes between Yemen's Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed government forces killed 81 people since Thursday, military and medical sources said on Friday.

The Iran-backed rebels are pushing towards territory bordering the Bab al-Mandab strait, a key Red Sea chokepoint.

Why are the Houthis fighting near the Bab al-Mandab strait?

The Houthis launched a ground assault backed by rocket and drone attacks near Yemen's Red Sea coast on Thursday. They are trying to cut off the government-held port city of Mokha and advance towards high ground overlooking the Bab al-Mandab strait, a route they could use to threaten passing ships.

The Houthis have repeatedly attacked Saudi ships in the Red Sea in recent weeks. The waterway has become an alternative export route for oil after Iran all but halted shipments from the Gulf by blockading the Strait of Hormuz.

The rebels are now trying to cement their hold over one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. They have disrupted it with attacks on passing vessels since the Gaza war broke out in 2023.

Military sources told AFP the offensive aims to cut off the government-held port city of Mokha, under fire for weeks, and advance towards areas bordering the Bab al-Mandab.

What is happening on the ground in Yemen?

The rebels have seized elevated sites overlooking government positions near the Red Sea, the coastal town of Khokha and Taiz city further inland. A military source and a Taiz official told AFP this on condition of anonymity.

The Houthis could target ships from these elevated positions, the sources said. A military official on the coast said 24 of his men had been killed, while another in the Taiz area said 15 had died there.

At least 42 Houthi militants were also killed, according to medical sources in areas under their control. The government has sent reinforcements to Taiz from Aden on Saudi orders, a Yemeni official said.

Why does the Bab al-Mandab strait matter?

The Houthis want to control the hills overlooking Bab al-Mandab and Mokha before attacking the coast, according to a Yemeni official in Aden, the government's base since it was ousted from the rebel-held capital, Sanaa, in 2014.

With Iran's closure of Hormuz, the Bab al-Mandab chokepoint has gained increased importance as a transit route for oil from Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter. The narrow waterway connects the Red Sea, and via the Suez Canal the Mediterranean, to the Indian Ocean.

Although the Houthis do not control areas bordering Bab al-Mandab, they hold the key port city of Hodeida, north of Mokha.

How did the truce between the Houthis and Yemen's government collapse?

A fragile truce between the Houthis and the government fell apart in July, after the rebels welcomed an Iranian plane to Sanaa. That triggered a spate of attacks.

The Houthis later announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting its ships and territory. Yemen, following more than a decade of civil conflict, has become the latest country drawn into the wider Middle East war.