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Yemen’s Houthis (Ansar Allah) seized several strategic islands in the southern Red Sea on September 10 as part of a rapid offensive that also delivered them the key port city of Mocha.
Houthi fighters captured Zuqar Island along with Greater Hanish and Lesser Hanish in the Hanish archipelago after launching missile and rocket strikes from the mainland and landing troops by boat, military sources told the Spanish news agency EFE. An AFP-quoted source confirmed the capture of at least Zuqar, while Reuters reported that Houthi forces had reached the islands following the fall of Mocha.
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A Yemeni government official told Xinhua that government naval troops withdrew from the area and that the Houthis moved in to establish positions.
Qatar-based Al-Araby reported that the Houthis also captured Perim Island, also known as Mayyun. The roughly 13-square-kilometer volcanic island sits at the narrowest point of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, dividing the waterway into two channels between Yemen and the Horn of Africa. Control of Perim would place the group directly astride one of the world’s most important shipping lanes.
Houthi officials described the operations as “defensive” and pledged that international freedom of navigation through the Bab al-Mandab would continue uninterrupted. The group has stated that it is enforcing a “naval blockade” aimed at Saudi Arabia and has conducted recent attacks on Saudi tankers and other vessels linked to the kingdom.
Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi accused Iran of seeking to give the Houthis influence over the Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea. He said any threat to the strait affects global trade through the Red Sea and Suez Canal and called the restoration of government control over Yemen’s coasts an international interest.
The island gains followed the Houthi seizure of Mocha, roughly 80 kilometers north of Perim, after Saudi-backed government and allied forces withdrew. The developments mark one of the sharpest escalations along Yemen’s western coast in years. It solidifies the Houthis control over commercial shipping through the strategic waterway.
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