Government forces in Yemen now control the key Bab al-Mandab Strait through which much of the world's maritime traffic passes after retaking it from Shia rebels, a general said Friday. "The Bab al-Mandab Strait is now under the total control of our troops," General Turki Ahmed told AFP. Ahmed was one of the commanders of an offensive that Thursday seized the island of Mayyun (Perim) between the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
The narrow waterway, which separates Yemen from Djibouti only some 20 miles (32 kilometres) away, funnels shipping to and from the Suez Canal, which lies at the north end of the Red Sea. President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and his government returned to Aden last month following six months in exile, after loyalist forces regained control of the port city and four other southern provinces from the rebels. The rebels still control the capital and northern provinces near the border with Saudi Arabia. On Thursday, troops backed by a Saudi-led coalition seized Bab al-Mandab and Dhubab in the southern province of Taez near the strait, loyalist military official Abedrabbo al-Mihwali told AFP. The strait had been in the hands of Huthi rebels and their allies, units still loyal to ousted former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, since March.
Bab al-Mandab was "brought under our control with the help of coalition forces, who provided ground, naval and air support," General Ahmed said. "The Huthis and their allies retreated to Mokha," a Red Sea port some 20 kilometres (12 miles) further north. "We are awaiting orders from the political leadership and President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi for the next move in the offensive," Ahmed added.
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