Houthis seize strategic Red Sea islands as analysts warn of impending oil crunch

Yemen’s Houthi militants have seized two strategic islands in the Red Sea, reinforcing the Iran-backed group’s ability to control a key shipping route, as concerns mount that the world is facing a new oil supply crisis.

The seizure of the islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish is the latest in the militant group’s swift advance across Yemen’s Red Sea coast, after the capture of the port of Mokha and Perim island in the Bab al-Mandab strait.

The islands lie 160km north of the strait which is a chokepoint that connects the Red Sea to the open ocean and Saudi Arabia’s key Asian markets.

The speed of the Houthis’ advance has left Yemen’s Saudi-backed government trying to claw back territory captured by the militants in recent days, while Riyadh grapples with attacks on a critical oil pipeline by Iran-allied militants in Iraq.

Threats from Houthis have left Saudi Arabia on high alert, with air alerts flashing across the country daily, while a series of attacks carried out by the militant group using ballistic missiles and drones wounded 13 civilians on Monday.

Nearly 94,000 people in Yemen have fled their homes since fighting between the Houthis and government forces escalated this month, the International Organization for Migration said on Monday. About 200 schools have been converted to shelters in south-western Yemen to absorb an influx of families, the International Rescue Committee said.

More than 2,000 people have reportedly fled across the sea into Djibouti. The Houthi advance puts them just 32km from a US military base in the tiny country on the Horn of Africa, on the other side of the Bab al-Mandab strait.

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