Houthis say shipping through Bab el-Mandeb Strait continues normally

Shipping through the strategically important Bab el-Mandeb Strait is continuing normally, a senior Houthi official said, amid concerns over a possible disruption to maritime traffic in the Red Sea.

Khuzam al-Asad, a member of the political bureau of Yemen’s Houthi movement, told Russia’s TASS news agency that international shipping through the strait remained safe.

“International passage through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is safe, ships are passing through as normal, and there is no cause for concern,” he said in response to questions about possible plans by the group to impose a blockade.

Al-Asad also said the Houthis had completed a military operation in western Yemen aimed at establishing control over territories and areas near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

He described the operation as an internal Yemeni campaign, saying the movement’s actions “constitute an internal national operation aimed at asserting Yemen’s sovereignty and countering the challenges and ambitions that threaten civil peace”.