Yemen Clashes Kill 60+ as Houthis Advance on Bab al-Mandab — SkimNews
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- Yemen clashes on September 5, 2026 killed more than 60 people, with Yemeni military sources confirming 26 government troops dead and Houthi sources reporting 31 rebel fighters killed, plus a missile strike on a bus between Taiz and Aden that killed six civilians and wounded seven.
- Houthi rebels seized positions near Taiz on September 4 as part of an offensive aimed at cutting off the government-held port city of Mokha and advancing toward areas bordering the Bab al-Mandab strait, prompting reinforcements to arrive from Aden.
- Friday's fighting (September 4) killed 129 people according to an AFP tally compiled from several sources, underscoring the intensity of the escalation into the weekend.
- Saudi Arabia launched three airstrikes on September 5 targeting Houthi positions recently captured in Taiz, according to a military official who told AFP.
- Bab al-Mandab strait has gained strategic importance as a transit route for Saudi crude now that Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz to commercial ships, and Houthis have declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia while beginning to target its ships and territory.
- The clashes represent a new front in the wider West Asia war that broke out in late February with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, after a fragile July truce collapsed when Houthis welcomed an Iranian plane to Sanaa.
Why it matters: Houthis pushing toward Bab al-Mandab — now the most critical oil chokepoint available after Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz — means Saudi Arabia's crude exports face a second maritime threat. Three Saudi airstrikes on September 5 show Riyadh is already responding to the Houthi advance, but the rebels' announced maritime blockade on top of their ground offensive compounds the pressure on global oil supply.
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