A Houthi advance along Yemen's Red Sea coast was reported to have reached Zuqar and Perim, while more than 2,000 government troops were besieged on the Hanish islands. The territorial-control claims have not been independently verified. The United Nations says at least 46,000 people were displaced across the wider conflict area in one week, adding humanitarian pressure around a strategically important shipping passage.
Houthi forces were reported to have reached Zuqar and Perim after an advance of about 18 hours through Mokha, Dhubab and Murad on Yemen's Red Sea coast. Perim separates the two shipping lanes of Bab el-Mandeb. More than 2,000 government troops reported besieged on the Hanish islands appealed for rescue, food and water. Euronews says it could not independently verify the territorial-control claims, leaving the precise situation unclear.[1]
The International Organization for Migration says renewed fighting in southwest Yemen displaced at least 46,000 people in one week. According to its director general, Amy Pope, some families on the West Coast and in Taiz are fleeing for a second or third time since the war began. Civilians leaving Maqbanah, Jabal Habashi and Al Ma'afer are moving towards Lahj, Aden and Ibb. The port of Mokha lies where the military advance and this new displacement overlap.[2], [1]
Bab el-Mandeb connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Together with Hormuz, it carries more than a quarter of global seaborne crude and petroleum-product trade, while roughly a third of container traffic uses the Red Sea route. Precise control around the islands therefore matters for shipping. The available reports do not establish that commercial traffic has stopped or that the strait is effectively closed.[1]
