Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces seized strategic positions near the Bab al-Mandab Strait and large parts of Dhu Bab district overlooking it on Monday, 5 October 2026, according to three military sources and a government source, as part of an offensive aimed at retaking areas seized by the Houthis during their advance along the western coast last September.
Government forces consolidate positions at Bab al-Mandab
The sources said government forces were working to consolidate full control of the area, benefiting from intensive air cover provided by the Saudi-led military coalition. The operations involve the Nation’s Shield Forces and Giants Brigades, along with fighters from the popular resistance, as clearance and site-security operations continue and supply lines and roads leading to the strait are cut off.
Government forces said they had retaken Dhu Bab military airport and advanced towards high ground overlooking Bab al-Mandab after carrying out a flanking manoeuvre during their movement in the area. They also said the clashes had resulted in deaths and injuries among Houthi ranks and the destruction or disabling of the group’s military vehicles and equipment, according to the government military source.
Houthi account denies advance near the strait
In contrast, media outlets loyal to the Houthis earlier denied that government forces had made any advance in the area. An agency run by the group quoted a military source as saying that its fighters had driven government forces out of al-Mawasit district in Taiz governorate and reached the home of Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, in a separate battlefield account unrelated to developments on the coastal front.
Al-Mawasit lies near the main road linking the cities of Taiz and Aden, a vital route for supplying government forces inside Taiz, which has remained on the front lines since the early years of the war. The fiercest fighting is concentrated in south-western Yemen, both in coastal areas near Bab al-Mandab and in the highlands surrounding Taiz, where the Houthis are seeking to encircle government positions and obstruct their supply routes.
Saudi air support for Yemeni operations
Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said 100 fighter aircraft were providing support to Yemeni forces, noting that air protection was being provided for the Bab al-Mandab Strait and that hundreds of Houthi positions had been targeted. Riyadh is supporting the campaign with air power, as well as arming and training Yemeni government units and seeking to provide logistical support for the operation.
Yemen’s internationally recognised government announced on Sunday, 4 October, the launch of a military campaign to retake areas under Houthi control. Al-Alimi said the operations would continue until the country was liberated from what he called the “grip of the terrorist militia”, before announcing the following day the launch of an operation called “Dawn of Yemen” aimed at restoring state institutions, taking control of Sana’a and ending Houthi control of the city.
Campaign follows Houthi coastal gains
The operation comes after weeks of fighting on several fronts, following a Houthi advance along the Red Sea coast and their seizure of al-Mokha and areas and islands near Bab al-Mandab during September.
The fighting has significance beyond Yemen’s borders, as the strait links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and serves as a major trade and energy route between Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal. Concerns over shipping and energy supplies have grown as Gulf exports have been restricted by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, increasing the importance of the Bab al-Mandab route and raising the risk of disruption to an additional oil transport corridor.
According to its stated aims, the government campaign seeks to push the Houthis away from the passage and restore shipping in the Red Sea, as well as halt missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi cities and facilities.
The Yemeni conflict in its current form began after the Houthis seized Sana’a in 2014, before a Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year in support of the government.
The fighting later reached a stalemate on most fronts, until a truce that took effect in 2022 remained tenuously in place before collapsing during the summer of 2026 and widespread clashes resumed.
