Houthi advance toward Bab el-Mandeb; Saudi Arabia’s request to the United States for an attack on the Houthis

🔸Reports from Yemen indicate that Houthi militants, after taking control of the port of “Al-Mukha” in the west of the country, have continued their advance along the Red Sea coast and reached the Hanish Islands.

🔸According to the latest reports, Yemeni government forces, in the wake of the Houthis’ advance toward “Dhabab,” near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, have retreated.

🔸Two government sources on the evening of Thursday, 19 Shahrivar, told Reuters that after seizing Al-Mukha, the Houthis reached the Hanish Islands in the Red Sea, and government forces and their allies have retreated to the south and the Dhabab area.

🔸The Hanish Islands are a group of Yemeni islands in the south of the Red Sea, located near the northern entrance to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Dhabab lies directly on the Bab el-Mandeb shoreline, opposite the island of “Mayyun” or Perim, and control of these two points is strategically important for gaining influence over this strait.

🔸Before the advance toward the Hanish Islands, on Thursday afternoon, the Houthis took control of Al-Mukha, a historic and strategic port in the south of Taiz province. The Houthis’ advance along the western coastline has brought them closer to areas that oversee the entry route into Bab el-Mandeb.

🔸Tariq Saleh, commander of the “National Resistance Forces” affiliated with the Yemeni government, has also ordered his forces along the western coast to establish an alternative command center in a secure location. This move is seen as another sign of the Houthis’ military pressure on government forces on this front.

🔸At the same time, clashes between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia have intensified in recent days.

🔸The Houthis say their operations do not disrupt freedom of navigation and international trade in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb, and only include “specific targets.” The Houthi-affiliated humanitarian operations coordination center announced that Saudi ships are still subject to the ban declared by this group.

🔸Read the full version of this report on the Radio Farda website.