Fighting in Yemen Intensifies as Govt Attacks Houthis Along Read Sea
Yemeni government forces launched attacks against the Houthi group along the Red Sea on Sunday, after conceding the port city of Mokha and an island on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait last week. The National Resistance said more than 500 government fighters were killed on the west coast over the past four weeks and about 1,500 wounded since August 9, while more than 1,000 Houthis were killed in Hodeidah and Taiz provinces. The United Nations estimated that more than 80,000 people have been displaced by the fighting since the start of September, and the International Organization for Migration said more than 2,000 Yemenis have reached Djibouti.
Why it matters: The Houthi advance along the Red Sea coast places them near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the US military base in Djibouti, affecting the geoeconomics of trade routes and regional military positioning.