Yemeni forces seize strategic sites near Bab al Mandab

The Yemeni army has said that government forces had seized the Dhubab district and strategic positions around the Bab al Mandab Strait following clashes with the Houthis.Yemen’s officialSaba news agencysaid on Monday that forces from the Nation’s Shield and Southern Giants brigades, backed by the Popular Resistance, took control of Dhubab in western Taiz province.A military source told Saba that the forces launched a large-scale operation with air support targeting Houthi positions and forces across several areas of the district.The forces advanced and took control of key positions while cutting supply lines and routes leading to Bab al Mandab, the source said.The source said an unspecified number of Houthis were killed or injured in the clashes, while several military vehicles and equipment were destroyed or damaged.The Southern Giants Brigades separately announced the launch of what they called a “decisive” military operation against the Houthis in the Bab al Mandab area.The operation follows Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi's order to begin what the government calls a “battle for liberation” to restore state institutions and territories under Houthi control.​​​​​​​Bab al Mandab is a strategically important waterway connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea and is a key route for international shipping.Confrontations between Yemen's internationally recognised government forces and the Houthis have escalated since early July following years of relative calm.The country has been engulfed in war since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several provinces in 2014, before a Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.The Houthis have been engaged in renewed fighting with government forces since Yemen's civil war reignited in July, when the group declared a maritime blockade on Riyadh and began targeting its ships in the Red Sea.The group seized control of Yemen's Red Sea coast and the Bab al Mandab Strait last month, which has become vital as the wider US war with Iran chokes the Strait of Hormuz.