Yemen’s Houthi rebels seize more key islands in southern Red Sea

Yemen’s Houthi rebels seize more key islands in southern Red Sea SAMY MAGDY CAIRO, EGYPT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PUBLISHED 39 MINUTES AGO Open this photo in gallery: Yemeni civilians celebrate while riding in the back of a pickup truck in the Bani Matar district on Sept. 12 as they follow a convoy carrying Houthi prisoners freed in Mokha on its way to Sanaa following the Houthi takeover of the southern Red Sea port city. STR/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels captured more strategic islands in the southern Red Sea, government and Houthi officials said Monday, strengthening their control of a major maritime shipping route. The capture of the islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish is the latest in the rebels’ swift advance around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key passage for Saudi oil shipments that has only become more crucial during the Iran war since it serves as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. Like Hormuz, which is located at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait – on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula – is a chokepoint that connects the Red Sea to the open ocean and Saudi Arabia’s key Asian markets. For more than a month, the Houthis have been striking Saudi oil infrastructure and shipping in the Red Sea, stepping up pressure on global oil prices and boosting Iran’s leverage in its war with the United States. Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have been attempting to rally and fight back. But the Houthi gains have seemingly come with little resistance. Somalis seek alternative shipping routes after Houthi advance along Red Sea coast The rebels deployed on the Hanish islands, 160 kilometres north of Bab el-Mandeb, after hundreds of government-allied forces withdrew from the archipelago, according to two government officials and a Houthi official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists. The capture of the islands came after the rebels last week seized the port city of Mokha on the mainland nearby and the island of Mayun, inside the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The Houthis’ advances also put them just 32 kilometres from the U.S. military base in Djibouti, on the other side of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The fighting is pushing in the impoverished nation back into full-fledged civil war, after a truce that largely…