Yemen Warns Houthi Advances Near Bab el-Mandeb Threaten Global Shipping

Yemen's internationally recognised government warned at the United Nations on Thursday that recent advances by the Iran-backed Houthis around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait pose a mounting danger to international shipping and the world economy.

The warning follows the rebels' seizure of territory along Yemen's western coast, including the port city of Mokha and strategic Red Sea islands close to the Bab el-Mandeb, a vital passage linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, Abdullah Abdulkader Al Alimi-Bawzer of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council said the Houthis' targeting of navigation security was not a threat to Yemen alone, describing the global economy as a hostage to the situation. He said recent years had demonstrated a reality the international community should not ignore, and argued that securing the sea must begin with eliminating the sources of danger on land.

Al Alimi-Bawzer accused the Houthi militias of meeting humanitarian efforts with intransigence and of using periods of truce as an opportunity. He said the protection of the strategic passage is a shared regional and international responsibility that Yemen cannot shoulder alone, calling it the duty of every economy that depends on the security of supply chains, energy and freedom of navigation.

The Houthis have declared a blockade on Saudi shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb and the Red Sea, part of an escalation that has also included missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia. The conflict has spilled across Yemen's border into the kingdom, with the rebels launching ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi territory.