Ships passing through Bab el-Mandeb Strait as normal — Houthi official

TUNIS, September 12. /TASS/. Shipping traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is proceeding as normal, Hizam al-Assad, a political bureau member of Yemen’s Houthi rebel movement Ansar Allah, told TASS.

"International passage through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is safe. Ships are passing through it as usual, and there is no cause for concern," he said when asked about the rebels' potential plans to impose a blockade.

Al-Assad also confirmed that the Houthis had completed a military operation in western Yemen to establish control over territories and districts adjacent to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. He emphasized that the movement's actions "constitute an internal national operation aimed at asserting Yemen's sovereignty and countering challenges and ambitions that threaten civil peace."

On Friday, rebel military spokesman Yahya Saree announced that on September 3, Ansar Allah forces launched an operation on Yemen's west coast to drive out Saudi forces. According to him, the move was prompted by "attacks carried out over the past few years by Saudi-backed forces against residents, villages, and districts of the west coast." Saree stated that during the operation, Saudi forces were driven out of six districts across the Taiz and Al-Hudaydah governorates, covering a total area of 5,400 square kilometers.