Yemen’s Houthis have seized Perim Island in the Bab el-Mandab Strait, tightening their grip on the strategic waterway, a local government official and eyewitnesses told AFP on Friday, September 11.
Boats carrying armed Houthi fighters reached Perim, also known as Mayyun, after government forces withdrew from the island on Thursday, the official said.
Reuters separately reported that Houthi forces had reached Dhubab, a coastal town on the strait directly opposite Perim, strengthening their position around the waterway.
The advance follows the Houthis’ capture of the Red Sea port city of Mocha on Thursday, September 10, as their forces pushed south along Yemen’s western coast towards Bab el-Mandab.
Perim sits inside the strait and divides the waterway into two shipping channels. An eyewitness told AFP that armed Houthi fighters were deploying along the Bab el-Mandab shore and moving around in military vehicles.
The latest advance came after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called US President Donald Trump twice on Thursday and urged him to authorise strikes against the Houthis, Axios reported. Trump declined the request, while US officials said Washington did not currently plan to take direct military action against the group.
The Houthi gains mark a significant escalation in Yemen’s conflict and put the group in a stronger position around Bab el-Mandab, a key shipping route between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
