Forces loyal Yemen’s Saudi-backed government ride in pick-up trucks along a road in the Hays district, south of Hodeidah on September 5, 2026. Fighting between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces and the country’s Houthi rebels killed more than 60 people on September 5, including civilians, medical and military sources told AFP. Fighting erupted on September 3, 2026, after the Iran-backed Houthis launched a ground assault along with rocket and drone attacks near coastal areas, vying for control of the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait at the Red Sea’s southern entrance. (Photo by Khaled ZIAD / AFP)
Yemen’s Houthis took over on Friday a Red Sea island in the middle of the Bab al-Mandeb shipping lane, completing their push to control the area, a local government official and eyewitnesses told AFP.
“Boats carrying armed Houthi fighters reached Mayyun Island after government forces withdrew from it yesterday,” the official said, referring to an island also known as Perim that divides the strait into lanes.
“The Houthis have completed their takeover of the Bab al-Mandab area and Mayyun Island, which is located in the middle of the strait,” he added, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity.
An eyewitness said gunmen were “deploying along the Bab al-Mandab shore and are driving around in military vehicles”.
