Yemen’s Houthis seized on Friday a key Red Sea island in the middle of the Bab al-Mandab strait, completing a push to take control of a waterway crucial to Saudi oil exports, a local government official and eyewitnesses told AFP.
The fighting in Yemen has taken centre-stage in the Middle East war, which erupted with US-Israeli strikes on Iran and prompted the Islamic republic to blockade another waterway crucial to global energy flows, the Strait of Hormuz.
“Boats carrying armed Houthi fighters reached Mayyun Island after government forces withdrew from it yesterday,” the local government official told AFP, referring to an island also known as Perim.
“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”.
Bab al-Mandab links Asia to Europe via the Red Sea and Suez Canal. It has gained importance as a transit route crucially for oil flows from Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, since the start of the Middle East war.
On Friday, both Brent North Sea Crude, the main international benchmark, and US oil contract WTI were above $100.
