Comments

You have commented 375 times on Rantburg.

Your Name

Your e-mail (optional)

Website (optional)

	My Original Nic Pic-a-Nic Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Foto

Submit your comments on this article

Arabia

After two days of deadly offensive near the Red Sea, the Houthis are in positions to target ships

2026-09-05

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[LeMarin] Clashes in Yemen between pro-government forces and Houthis have left more than 120 dead in two days, the deadliest in years, following the offensive launched by pro-Iranian rebels near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

At the height of the genocidal attacks on Gaza, the Houthis carried out numerous attacks in the Red Sea in 2024 and 2025 in support of the Palestinian people. The Greek-flagged oil tanker "Sounion" was notably attacked in August 2024.

A death toll of more than 120 was reported to AFP on Friday, September 4, by military and medical sources, following a ground attack by the Houthis, supported by rocket fire and drone attacks aimed at seizing areas bordering the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the entrance to the Red Sea.

Backed by Iran, Yemeni rebels announced a maritime blockade in the Red Sea in July against Riyadh, which supports the Yemeni government, and claimed responsibility for attacks on several of its oil tankers. They do not currently hold areas directly overlooking Bab el-Mandeb, but they do control the major port city of Hodeida, on the Red Sea further north.

REGAINING CONTROL
According to government military sources interviewed by AFP, the rebels are also seeking to isolate the port city of Mokha, near the strait, from the rest of the government-controlled areas.

As part of their offensive, they seized strategic sectors in the highlands, which could offer them new positions from which to target ships.

The Houthis believe that if they take control of Bab el-Mandeb or the port of Mokha, they will be in a better position to negotiate with the government and the Saudis, Mohammed al-Basha of the risk management consultancy Basha Report told AFP.

To counter the offensive and try to regain control of the area, the Yemeni government sent reinforcements from Aden at Riyadh's request.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is all the more vital for Saudi Arabia, the world's leading oil exporter, as it is now its main accessible maritime route, since Tehran's closure of Hormuz.

More
Houthis attempting to seize rural areas of Taiz, Yemen

As Yemenis mock the invading Houthis for claiming to be fighting Saudi Arabia while chanting "Death to America" and "Death to Israel," while attempting to seize rural areas of Taiz, Yemen, where there are no Saudi, American or Israeli forces.

The damage the Houthis are… pic.twitter.com/QgQD2Z8QoI
— Basha باشا (@BashaReport) September 4, 2026

Text:

As Yemenis mock the invading Houthis for claiming to be fighting Saudi Arabia while chanting "Death to America" and "Death to Israel," while attempting to seize rural areas of Taiz, Yemen, where there are no Saudi, American or Israeli forces.

The damage the Houthis are inflicting on Yemen's social fabric could take generations to heal. As Houthi forces drawn from their northern tribal strongholds push into the country's central regions, the fighting is reopening old wounds and creating new ones. Each new confrontation deepens local grievances, mistrust and divisions that may outlast the war itself.

Meanwhile, Houthi media has largely avoided reporting details of the fighting on this front while continuing its "Madri," or "I don't know," social media campaign.

Videos from the front line show exhausted National Resistance
@nrfyemen fighters on the heights of Al-Barashah mountain in Maqbanah, overlooking areas south of Hays and the Red Sea coastline. Other footage shows soldiers reciting poetry to one another to show unity and raise morale after hours of heavy fighting.

Apparently local fighters tell @BashaReport Houthi fighters also appeared exhausted following prolonged clashes and their withdrawal from several positions. Videos from the battlefield document the bodies of Houthi fighters reportedly killed during the fighting.

More at the link

Update from the Times of Israel at 10:10 a.m. EDT:

Yemeni military official says 66 men killed, and Houthi sources claim 62 operatives dead in fighting that erupted Thursday after Iran-backed terror group launched offensive.

The [Houthi] rebels have seized elevated sites overlooking government positions near the Red Sea and the city of Taiz further inland, a military source and a Taiz official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

The Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
s could target ships from these elevated positions, they said.

The toll rose to 129 on Friday, according to an AFP tally compiled from several sources, up from an earlier count of 81.

A Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
i military official speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
told AFP that 66 of his men had been killed, while medical and military sources close to the Houthis said at least 62 rebels had died.

Another medical source said a civilian had also been killed.

The government has sent reinforcements to Taiz from Aden on Saudi orders, he said.

"The Houthis feel that if they capture Bab al-Mandab or Mokha port, they will be in a better position of power to negotiate with the government and the Saudis," Basha added.

With Iran’s closure of Hormuz, the Bab al-Mandab chokepoint has gained increased importance as a transit route for oil from Saudi Arabia

...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
, the world’s biggest exporter of crude.

The narrow waterway connects the Red Sea — and, via the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean — to the Indian Ocean.

In July, a fragile truce between the Houthis and the government fell apart after the rebels welcomed an Iranian plane to Sanaa, setting off a spate of attacks.

They later announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting its ships and territory.

Posted by:badanov

00:00