Yemeni forces repel Houthi assault on Taiz-Aden route as clashes reach Bab el-Mandeb

Defence of the Taiz-Aden corridor

Yemen government forces repelled overnight attacks by Houthi fighters targeting the Hejat al-Abd mountain pass on Thursday. The steep, winding route connects the southern port of Aden, where the internationally recognised administration is based, to Taiz and surrounding rural districts. Spokesman Colonel Majid al-Nuzaili stated that government units thwarted coordinated assaults launched across the Taiz, Lahj and Aden governorates, killing and wounding dozens of Houthi fighters. Two days earlier on Tuesday, government-aligned troops took control of Mount Qarfan to block advances through the valleys of southern Taiz. The mountain pass remains the only functional transport route for civilians seeking to travel abroad from Taiz, as commercial flights do not operate from Houthi-controlled territory.

Advances toward the Bab el-Mandeb strait

The fighting follows an offensive earlier in September that brought Houthi forces into the port of Mocha and across adjacent Red Sea islands. Houthi units have pushed toward the Kahboub mountain range, positioned approximately 40 kilometres southwest of Taiz and overlooking Mayyun Island and the Bab el-Mandeb strait. The waterway handles roughly 12% of global maritime trade and carried 7% of global crude output in June, according to Kpler data. After taking the coastline, the Houthis declared a maritime blockade against Saudi-flagged shipping. Yemeni Vice President Abdullah Abdulkader al-Alimi-Bawzer addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday to urge international action.

The Houthi militias' use of the safety of navigation as a tool for blackmail threatens not only Yemen. It is taking hostage the entire global economy.

Cross-border missile exchanges with Saudi Arabia

Hostilities widened as Houthi forces launched cross-border strikes against targets inside Saudi Arabia. Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki stated that Saudi air defence batteries intercepted six ballistic missiles aimed at the western cities of Taif and Yanbu on Thursday. Saudi authorities issued public alerts for Mecca, Jazan and Najran before declaring the danger had passed. The missile barrage followed a strike against Riyadh on Saturday and cross-border drone activity across southwestern Saudi provinces. Houthi officials claimed Saudi forces carried out 52 air and missile strikes across Hodeidah, Taiz, al-Bayda, Marib and Saada on Wednesday, bringing their recorded count of coalition attacks during the recent escalation to 988.

Regional displacement and refugee arrivals in Djibouti

The renewal of hostilities has triggered mass displacement across southwestern Yemen and into East Africa. United Nations figures indicate more than 700 people have died and over 132,000 have fled their homes since fighting expanded along the coast. Displaced families from Mocha have moved east into Aden, while essential commodities such as cooking gas have grown scarce within Taiz. Across the Red Sea, more than 3,200 Yemeni refugees arrived in Djibouti by boat in late September, pushing the Markazi camp in Obock beyond its 5,000-person capacity. The World Food Programme reduced monthly food aid in Djibouti by half before shifting to deliveries every other month. The influx coincides with an 87% budget cut at the UNHCR office in Djibouti, where staffing dropped from 43 to 7 personnel.

We are more than overwhelmed.