Red Sea: Houthis could close crucial strait

 

Henrik Samuelsson/TT

 

Published 09:57 | Updated 12:43

          

         Fishermen behind a vessel in the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The photo was taken last spring. Photo: Abd           al-Nassr al-Seddik/AP/TT

The Houthi movement has seized a strategically vital island in the Red Sea. This gives it full control over the Bab al-Mandab Strait—a crucial artery for global trade—according to a source speaking to the news agency AFP.

The offensive in Yemen by the Iran-allied movement is sparking concern in global markets due to the strategic importance of Bab al-Mandab for international trade routes. The strait’s significance has grown further given that the Strait of Hormuz—on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula—has frequently been closed this year amidst the US-Iran conflict.

With Iranian backing, the Houthis have controlled large parts of Yemen for years, opposing a rival government backed by Saudi Arabia, which shares a 1,300-kilometer border with Yemen. The movement is now conducting a lightning offensive southward along the Red Sea coast and captured the port city of Mocha this week.

In the middle of the strait

According to media reports, they have also established a military presence on the Hanish Islands, just north of the narrow Bab al-Mandab Strait. On Friday, Houthi forces reached the island of Mayyun, which lies in the middle of the strait and divides it into two shipping channels, AFP reports.

"Government forces withdrew yesterday," the news agency's source said.

Saudi Arabia is responding with airstrikes, a TV channel in Houthi-controlled areas reports. Mocha’s airport was reportedly bombed on Friday, though the extent of any damage was not immediately clear. War-torn Yemen sees very little civilian air traffic.

According to sources cited by the news site Axios, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called U.S. President Donald Trump twice on Thursday, asking him to launch attacks against the Houthis. Sources say Trump rejected bin Salman’s request.

Pressuring the U.S.

The Iran-backed militia’s successes "could create conditions for the Houthis to attempt to establish themselves as the legitimate authority and guarantor of passage through the strait, much as Iran has sought to do in the Strait of Hormuz," writes the think tank ISW.

There have previously been unconfirmed reports that the Houthis are acting on Iran’s behalf specifically to influence global trade and thereby exert pressure on the United States.

Facts

The Houthi movement

The so-called Houthi movement—officially known as Ansar Allah (roughly "Supporters of God")—has controlled a large part of war-torn Yemen for a decade.

The Shia Islamist movement originated from the Zaidi al-Houthi clan, which historically held a ruling role in northwestern Yemen. It grew and became radicalized in opposition to Yemen’s participation in the U.S. "War on Terror" during the 2000s.

In the wake of the Arab Spring, the movement went to war against Yemen’s internationally recognized government at a time when the latter was being shaken by popular protests and South Yemeni separatists. The Houthis received support from Iran, while the government is backed by a Sunni coalition led by Saudi Arabia. Hundreds of thousands of people have died in the ongoing conflict. Houthi forces seized power in the capital, Sanaa, in 2015.

The Houthi movement is part of Iran’s regional coalition with Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah. During the conflicts in the Middle East in recent years, they have fired upon Israel and cargo ships in the heavily trafficked shipping lanes off the coast of Yemen.