Yemen’s Houthi movement has taken control of Mayun Island, a strategically located landmass sitting inside the Bab el-Mandeb strait, one of the busiest and most sensitive maritime corridors in the world. The move is widely seen as an attempt by the group to strengthen its hold over a waterway that carries a significant share of global trade.
Yemeni government sources confirmed that state forces withdrew from the island, allowing Houthi fighters to move in. Alongside this, the group also took over Dhubab, a coastal town along the Red Sea that holds its own tactical value in the ongoing struggle for the region.
Government Forces Respond With Airstrikes
In response, Yemen’s official military announced that its air force had launched strikes inside a previously declared “kill box,” a designated zone where aerial bombardment is authorized. Civilians were warned to avoid the Taiz–Mokha road and the Mokha–Dhubab route as operations intensified in the area.
According to the Houthi-run health ministry, at least 82 people have been killed or wounded since September 3 as a result of what it described as Saudi-led attacks. The figures could not be independently verified, but they point to a sharp escalation in violence around the strait in recent days.
Reported Rift Between Riyadh and Washington
Separately, a U.S. news outlet reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pushed for direct American action against the Houthis, a request that President Donald Trump reportedly turned down. Citing a U.S. official, the report said the crown prince contacted Trump twice on Thursday, urging Washington to respond to the growing threat posed by the group.
However, American military and civilian officials indicated that Trump preferred to avoid opening a new front in the region, choosing instead to keep U.S. involvement limited.
The developments follow a claim made a day earlier by Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a senior official from Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, who said the Houthis had already achieved full control over Bab el-Mandeb. Taken together, the seizure of Mayun Island and Dhubab appears to reinforce that claim, raising fresh concerns about the security of one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes.