Houthi gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast tighten control near Bab al‑Mandab as oil tops $105
Houthi advances around Yemen’s Bab al‑Mandab strait — from Mokha and Jabal al‑Umari to key Red Sea islands — are reshaping control of a major shipping route just as Brent crude trades around $105 a barrel, heightening concern for energy markets and maritime traffic.
Fresh Houthi gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast are tightening their grip on the approaches to Bab al‑Mandab, the narrow strait that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, at the same time that oil prices have jumped into triple‑digit territory.
Yemeni media aligned with the government and conflict‑tracking outlets report that government forces have withdrawn from the port city of Mokha in southwestern Yemen. According to these accounts, the withdrawal allowed Houthi forces (Ansarallah) to take control of Mokha and the wider direction of Hays. Separate footage circulated by Houthi fighters shows them inside Mokha’s port next to a captured Oshkosh M‑ATV armoured vehicle that had previously been supplied by Saudi Arabia to pro‑government units.
On land, Houthi units have also advanced on the high ground around the strait. Reporting from conflict monitors says they captured Jabal al‑Umari, described as the last strategic height along the Bab al‑Mandab axis in the direction of Mokha. Other accounts describe fighting between Ansarallah and the Yemeni National Army at Jabal al‑Umari, while the internationally recognised Presidential Leadership Council has ordered its forces to buy time so they can complete a withdrawal toward Aden. Analysts following the campaign note that this decision effectively concedes areas that Tareq Saleh’s forces had controlled for years.
Offshore, Houthi forces are reported to have moved onto islands that sit close to the key shipping lane. A Yemeni military source quoted by AFP says the Houthis seized Zuqar Island in the southern Red Sea after rocket attacks and a boat‑borne ground assault, strengthening their position near Bab al‑Mandab. Conflict‑mapping outlets add that Ansarallah has captured Red Sea islands including Abu Ali, Hanish al Kabir, Hanish as Saghir, Suyul Hanish, al Mamalih and Jabal Zuqar, and report landings on Jazirat Jabal Zuqar and Mayyun. Another update states that Ansarallah forces have captured all Red Sea islands, including Hanish and Zuqar.
Taken together, control of Mokha, Jabal al‑Umari and these islands gives Houthi forces a much larger footprint along the Yemeni side of the Bab al‑Mandab corridor. Even without a formal declaration about shipping, a single armed actor holding more ports, high ground and islands on this stretch of coast increases the practical risk to vessels that move through the southern gateway to the Suez Canal.
The broader coalition opposing the Houthis is also under strain. Reporting on the ground describes friction between forces aligned with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi‑backed troops in southern Yemen, including instances where UAE‑aligned units have blocked the entry of Saudi‑loyal formations. Those tensions come on top of the territorial losses on the Red Sea front.
Energy markets are reacting to this wider picture of instability around key maritime chokepoints and conflict involving Iran. Multiple market updates note that Brent crude has blown past $100 a barrel and is trading around $105, with one report putting crude at $100 and Brent at $105. Another points out that Brent has surged into the mid‑$105 range and that U.S. crude futures have hit $100 per barrel for the first time since May 21, after climbing from $99 as traders brace for a prolonged war involving Iran. One summary says Brent is up nearly 30% from August lows and about 70% year‑to‑date.
For shipping companies and insurers, the combination of Houthi territorial gains near Bab al‑Mandab and higher headline oil prices signals rising exposure. The strait is a core route for Gulf and Russian oil and refined products heading to Europe and beyond; even a perceived increase in risk can lead to higher war‑risk premiums and route changes that ripple through supply chains.
How disruptive this becomes will depend on what happens next: whether Houthi forces consolidate on the newly captured islands and coastal areas, whether Saudi‑ and UAE‑aligned forces stabilise a new defensive line, and whether any of the armed actors around Bab al‑Mandab start explicitly linking control of these positions to demands in wider negotiations. Market participants will also be watching for any new attacks on ships, changes in naval patrol patterns and further moves in crude benchmarks from their current levels around $100 for U.S. crude and $105 for Brent.
Sources
- OSINT