Yemen Armed Forces Advance in Taiz, Coalition Carries out Operation to Protect Marine Navigation
The Yemeni army announced it had seized new positions in the Haifan district, south of Taiz province, as battles continued on several frontlines there. The Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen said its naval forces carried out an operation in Hodeidah province to protect maritime navigation in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and spokesperson Turki al-Malki said a plot for imminent attacks on southern Red Sea waterways had been thwarted, with weapons depots, warehouses for booby-trapped boats and naval mines destroyed. The Coalition later announced the destruction of a ballistic missile launched in Sanaa and a warehouse in Saada storing 20 missiles, while Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman said the Makkah Alliance for Defense committee decided to implement collective defense commitments and deploy agreed forces in the Kingdom.
Why it matters: The reported operations and the alliance's decision bear on maritime security in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and on the collective-defence arrangements of the states involved.