Houthi advance in Yemen threatens Red Sea shipping and global oil supplies
Iran-backed rebels have seized control of the Bab al-Mandab strait, a critical energy chokepoint, forcing over 100,000 people to flee and raising concerns about economic disruption.
Yemen's Houthi rebels have rapidly advanced along the Red Sea coast, seizing thousands of kilometres and strategically important islands in recent days, according to The Guardian. The Iran-backed group now controls the Bab al-Mandab strait, one of the region's major energy chokepoints alongside the Hormuz strait, and has targeted shipping and oil facilities in the area.
The advances threaten significant economic consequences. Saudi Arabia has been forced to rely on an east-west pipeline to move oil to Red Sea ports after the Iran war, but drone strikes—blamed on an Iran-backed militia in Iraq—have shut that route; analysts estimate a month-long closure could cut global crude supply by 120 million barrels. The halt to shipping through the Bab al-Mandab strait could be longer-lasting, forcing costlier and slower routes to Asian markets. Over 100,000 people have been displaced in Yemen, where half the population already depends on humanitarian aid.
Sources
- The Guardian view on the Houthi advance in Yemen: another vital Middle East artery becomes a battlefield | Editorial — The Guardian — Opinion
EGazette summarizes reporting from multiple sources; follow the links for the originals.
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