Yemeni government forces say they have 'secured' Bab al-Mandab Strait

Yemeni pro-government forces backed by Saudi Arabia say they have "secured" the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the start of a major offensive against the Iran-backed Houthi movement.

Key points

• A Yemeni military spokesman remarked Giants Brigades and National Shield forces were besieging Houthi fighters in the Red Sea coastal town of Dhubab.
• At least 959 individuals have been killed and 5, 000 injured in the fighting in Yemen since 6 August, according to the government's health ministry.
• When the Houthis ousted the administration from Sanaa, yemen has been devastated by a civil war that began in 2014.
• A Saudi-led military coalition remarked its fighter jets had destroyed more than 300 "high-value" targets in strikes supporting the offensive.
• They remarked they posed no threat to international shipping passing through the waterway but that they would continue to target vessels from Saudi Arabia.

Notably, a Yemeni military spokesman remarked Giants Brigades and National Shield forces were besieging Houthi fighters in the Red Sea coastal town of Dhubab. It overlooks the strategic waterway, after the forces took control of its airport and cut the road to the port city Mokha.

Houthi-run media denied that administration forces had produced advances in the Dhubab area.

Authorities stated operations had additionally begun on a number of other fronts, including the capital Sanaa. It fell to the Houthis at the start of the civil war 12 years ago.

Meanwhile, a Saudi-led military coalition remarked its fighter jets had destroyed more than 300 "high-value" targets in strikes supporting the offensive.

On Sunday, the head of Yemen's internationally recognised Presidential Leadership Council confirmed the beginning of an offensive aimed at retaking all territory held by the Houthis, insisting that all opportunities for de-escalation had been exhausted.

Rashad al-Alimi called on all armed forces, security forces and military formations "to begin carrying out their assigned missions, in accordance with the approved plans, until the country is liberated from the grip of the Houthi terrorist militia".

It came after the Houthi fighters reportedly cut a mountain road near the south-western city of Taiz, effectively leaving administration forces and residents there surrounded.

For context, the Houthis additionally stated they had introduced ballistic missiles and drones at oil sites belonging to Saudi Aramco in Riyadh and the Khurais area of Saudi Arabia in retaliation for dozens of Saudi strikes on their territory.

When the Houthis ousted the administration from Sanaa, yemen has been devastated by a civil war that began in 2014. After a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states intervened in an attempt to restore the government's rule, the conflict escalated in 2015.

When the Houthis confirmed a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia and began missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea, a four-year-old informal ceasefire began to unravel in July.

As well as an air strike on Sanaa airport that they blamed on the kingdom, the Houthis remarked they were retaliating for a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in their territory.

Last month, the Houthis introduced a surprise offensive along Yemen's south-western Red Sea coast and swiftly ousted pro-government forces from areas overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait, including Dhubab, Mokha and Perim (Mayyun) Island.

At least 959 individuals have been killed and 5, 000 injured in the fighting in Yemen since 6 August, according to the government's health ministry. The UN notes another 197, 000 residents have been displaced.

In short, yemeni government forces say they have ' secured' Bab al is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.