Yemen's internationally recognized government said Monday that its troops pushed Houthi fighters out of several towns near the Red Sea, with jets from a Saudi-led coalition supporting the advance.
The fighting has gone on for more than a decade. Yemen's civil war began in 2014 when Houthi forces, who follow a branch of Shia Islam called Zaidism, took the capital Sanaa and much of the country's north and west. A Saudi-led coalition entered the war in 2015 to support the government. In the years since, the Houthis have also periodically fired on commercial ships passing through the Red Sea, a waterway that normally carries a significant share of the world's container traffic and oil shipments on their way to and from the Suez Canal.
The gains announced Monday put government forces near the strait at the Red Sea's southern entrance, a narrow passage that ships must use to reach the Gulf of Aden and, beyond it, the open ocean. Asked whether Washington had coordinated the push, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio pointed to a defense pact between the United States and Saudi Arabia but did not give details. The Associated Press reported that the United States had provided intelligence support to Saudi forces. A government source told Reuters that fighting continued near the strait into Monday. The Houthi movement said it had launched missiles and drones at airports, military bases, and an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia.
Control of this stretch of coastline matters well beyond Yemen's borders. Shipping companies have rerouted many vessels away from the Red Sea over the past two years because of the threat of attack, sending them on a much longer journey around the southern tip of Africa instead. Any shift in who controls the coastline near the strait could affect how safe shipowners feel sending vessels back through the shorter route, with knock-on effects for shipping costs and, eventually, consumer prices.
Whether the advance continues toward full control of the coastline near the strait, and whether shipping insurers and major carriers respond by reconsidering Red Sea routes.
Why does this strait matter for the rest of the world?
It is a narrow passage that ships must pass through to move between the Red Sea and the open ocean, making it important for global shipping and oil tanker traffic.
Is the United States fighting directly in Yemen?
Officials describe U.S. involvement as intelligence support for Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, under an existing defense partnership with Saudi Arabia.