Yemen Forces Withdraw from Bab el-Mandeb Area, Leaving Houthis in Control of Vital Strait

Yemeni forces fighting for the internationally recognised, Saudi-backed government said on Sunday that they were withdrawing from the area overlooking the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, leaving the Iran-aligned Houthis in control of one of the world’s most important shipping chokepoints.

The withdrawal hands the Houthis greater leverage over the narrow waterway at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, at a time when Iran continues to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula.

FAKTA

• Yemeni government forces announced on Sunday, 15 November 2026, that they are withdrawing from Dhubab Airport and the Bab el-Mandeb area, west of Taiz Governorate.
• The forces said they are redeploying toward Aden, where the government is based, to secure the capital and the neighbouring governorates.
• The Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, now hold the area overlooking the strait.
• Bab el-Mandeb is one of the world’s busiest routes for seaborne goods, linking Asia with Europe via Egypt’s Suez Canal.
• Fighting around the western region of Taiz has displaced about 300,000 people across Yemen, and the city remains besieged.

Bab el-Mandeb: why the strait matters

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is one of the world’s most important and busiest routes for global seaborne commodity and goods shipments, particularly from Asia to Europe via Egypt’s Suez Canal.

Control of the strait gives the Houthis a potent pressure point on global shipping. Together with the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, the dual squeeze would further isolate Gulf oil producers from their main shipping routes.

Read more Middle East coverage on Watan News.

Redeployment toward Aden

The southern Yemeni forces said they were redeploying toward Aden, where the government is based, as the Houthis increase pressure on the southern areas still under government control.

“The Southern Armed Forces announce the implementation of a redeployment operation for its forces from Dhubab Airport and the Bab el-Mandeb area, west of Taiz Governorate,” the southern forces said in a statement.

“This step is taken based on the priority of securing the capital, Aden, and the neighbouring governorates, as well as strengthening the front lines and addressing existing threats.”

A cargo ship docked at the Port of Aden. Government forces said they were redeploying toward Aden, where the government is based.

Fighting intensifies around Taiz

Government forces launched a military campaign in October to recapture the strategic coastal areas from the Houthis, who had pushed south in September in an attempt to seize control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast. The Houthi offensive brought them within reach of Bab el-Mandeb.

The escalation in fighting broke a 2022 UN-brokered truce and has become another volatile front in the wider regional conflict, as the Houthis continue to launch attacks on Saudi Arabia, a key US ally and the world’s biggest crude exporter.

Houthi attacks on the kingdom have disrupted flights and oil supplies, striking Saudi ports, airports and facilities of state oil company Saudi Aramco, including the kingdom’s Red Sea oil export hub of Yanbu. In response, Saudi Arabia has struck Houthi targets in Yemen, a country mired in civil war since 2014, when the Houthis pushed the government south.

Fighting is intensifying around the western region of Taiz, with humanitarian conditions worsening. The city, which hosts about half of the 300,000 people displaced across Yemen by the latest fighting, remains besieged. Aid supplies are unable to enter, and civilians are unable to leave.