Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants have seized control of the historic port city of Mocha, four government military sources said, ina strategic shift that could threaten the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants have seized control of the historic port city of Mocha, four government military sources said, ina strategic shift that could threaten the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world's most important shipping routes.
Fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces has intensified in recent days, with the militant group shifting its focus to control over Yemen's long coastline instead of just the north, putting them in a stronger position to disrupt maritime trade.
The group has launched attacks on the strategic Red Sea islands of Hanish,pushing government forces and their allies south to Dhubab, which sits directly on the strait across from the island of Perim, the Yemeni sources told Reuters on Thursday.
Control of Dhubab and the island is key to gaining hold of the strait, they said.
The escalation in fighting between Saudi Arabia's Yemeni allies in the internationally recognised government and the Houthishas created a second theatre of war in the Iran conflict that threatens global energy and commodity supplies.
Brent crude prices hovered above $100 a barrel on Thursday as supply routes through both the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea remained heavily disrupted.
To avoid the Strait of Hormuz,
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