Yemen fighting kills more than 300 near Bab al-Mandab

Renewed fighting in Yemen has killed more than 300 people, with battles since Thursday concentrated in the southwest near Bab al-Mandab, the entrance to the Red Sea.

The fighting pits government forces against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels after several years of relative calm. Experts cited by AFP said the Houthis appear to be seeking territory along Bab al-Mandab, a route that in peacetime links shipping to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean.

A successful Houthi offensive would strengthen the rebels' ability to threaten shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The route has become more important because Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has led Saudi Arabia to divert most of its oil exports to the Red Sea. Saudi exports through Bab al-Mandab rose eightfold between March and mid-July.

Yemeni researcher Ahmed Hazaa said control of Bab al-Mandab would allow the controlling side to dictate terms. He said the Houthi offensive was aimed at helping Iran with its blockade of Hormuz.

Farea Al-Muslimi, of the London-based Chatham House think tank, said he was less convinced that Iran was directing the fighting. He said Iran might benefit from Houthi operations against Riyadh without necessarily controlling them.

A 2022 truce froze Yemen's front lines and lasted until July, when fighting resumed after an Iranian plane arrived in Sanaa without Saudi authorisation, defying Riyadh's control over Yemeni airspace. Strikes hit Sanaa airport, Houthi retaliation followed, and thousands of civilians fled as combat escalated.

The earlier years of war, from 2014 to 2022, pushed Yemen into a severe humanitarian crisis. The UN warned last year that 17 million people were struggling to eat and another million faced extreme hunger.