Yemen Houthis seize strategic Hanish islands in Red Sea

The strategic islands sit along a vital maritime corridor linking the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Sanaa: Yemen’s Houthi rebels captured more strategic islands in the southern Red Sea, Yemeni government and Houthi officials said on Monday, September 14, strengthening their control of a major maritime shipping route.

The rebels deployed fighters on the islands of Greater Hanish and Lesser Hanish 160 kilometres north of Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to two government officials and a Houthi official.

The Houthis took over the islands after hundreds of government-allied forces withdrew from the archipelago, said the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to journalists.

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The capture of the islands came after the rebels last week seized the port city of Mokha and the island of Mayun, located inside Bab el-Mandeb Strait from Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces.