Yemen's Red Sea Offensive Threatens a Key Shipping Route

Saudi-backed forces in Yemen are fighting to push back Houthi fighters who swept down the Red Sea coast and seized a key shipping chokepoint. The clearest recent account comes from a rare front-line visit in the southwest, published Sept. 27. BBC

The BBC travelled with government forces out from Taiz, through checkpoints, to where Houthi control ends and no man's land begins. No man's land is the exposed strip between opposing lines. Access of this kind is rare. The report was by senior international investigations correspondent Nawal Al-Maghafi, embedded with pro-government units opposite Houthi positions.

At the front, the crew heard a drone above their position. A soldier with them said a drone overhead is usually followed by an attack. The crew withdrew from the open spot. About 10 minutes after they drove away, loud thuds from strikes were heard.

The fighting near Taiz is part of a wider coastal offensive. Reuters reported on Sept. 21 that Houthi fighters pushed to take strategic heights to cut the Red Sea coast off from areas held by Saudi-backed forces. Reuters A government source said Iran-backed Houthi fighters have taken control of a key island in the Red Sea. On Sept. 23, the Associated Press reported that Iranian Revolutionary Guard advisers helped Yemen's Houthis take the Red Sea coast from pro-government forces. AP

Both sides had been building up forces for weeks along a front spanning Houthi-controlled northwestern Yemen, as reported in late July. On Sept. 24, Yemeni government forces repelled a Houthi attack on supply lines, the roads used to move food, fuel and ammunition, according to conflict monitoring data. CFR The fighting now centers on high ground, supply roads and coastal access points.

Civilians are being displaced and harmed. Yemenis are fleeing across the Red Sea as Houthis and Saudi-backed forces step up the war. Displacement camps and health centres have been attacked amid surging violence involving Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, the U.N. rights chief said on Sept. 24. Reuters Child soldiers continue to be recruited in the new round of fighting between government and Houthi forces.

This battle follows an earlier fight for the same coast. Pro-government soldiers and militiamen captured Hudaydah's southern suburbs and airport in swift early advances in November 2018. The Saudi-led coalition pledged $1.5bn in new aid for Yemen in January 2018.

The broader context here is a conflict running on three levels at once. Ports serve as military targets, humanitarian lifelines and diplomatic bargaining chips at the same time. Around Taiz, checkpoints, buffer ground, drones and return fire show a split front where small advances can threaten supply roads. At sea, islands and coastal heights near the chokepoint give the holder influence well beyond Yemen, much like control of a narrow doorway all ships must use. Regionally, reported Iranian advisers on one side and Saudi backing on the other tie the war to wider deterrence contests in the Red Sea and Gulf.

Looking at what comes next for diplomats and planners, three variables stand out: resupply, sea access and civilian displacement. If government forces cannot steady supply lines after the Sept. 24 defense, coastal positions risk isolation. If Houthi control of heights and island positions holds firm, disrupting commercial traffic becomes easier without holding large cities. With camps, clinics and sea-crossing routes under pressure, aid agencies face a tighter corridor to work in just as needs rise.