DJIBOUTI / SANAA — Iran-backed Houthi forces have expanded their hold along Yemen’s southern Red Sea coast and nearby islands, tightening pressure on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and prompting renewed concern about shipping, energy routes, and foreign military facilities across the water in Djibouti.
In mid-September the group seized the port city of Mocha (Mokha), pushed farther down the coast toward Dhubab, and took Perim Island — also known as Mayun — in the middle of the strait, according to Yemeni government sources, regional reporting, and analysts tracking the front. The Houthis also moved onto the Hanish Islands farther north. Those positions give the movement a stronger line of sight over a passage that is only about 18 miles wide at its narrowest point and carries a large share of traffic between Asia, the Middle East, and Europe via the Suez Canal.
Several reports placed the new Houthi-held ground roughly 20 miles from Camp Lemonnier, the main U.S. installation in Africa and part of a cluster of foreign bases in Djibouti that also includes French, Chinese, and Japanese facilities. Other assessments measured the distance from Perim Island to the base at a greater range. Either way, the advance puts Houthi missiles and drones closer to a strategic American hub and to the shipping lanes that pass within a few miles of the island. U.S. Africa Command and outside analysts have previously warned that the Houthis have the capability to strike the Djibouti base cluster if they choose to escalate.
The territorial push followed weeks of intensified fighting with Saudi-backed, internationally recognized Yemeni government forces. The Houthis have also claimed drone and missile attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia, including energy-related infrastructure. Riyadh reported strikes that led it to shut a key east-west pipeline as a precaution. Civilian harm, displacement, and damage to buildings have been reported on both sides of the Yemen conflict as the coastal campaign unfolded. Government-aligned units later said they had recovered some ground and struck Houthi positions near Mocha and Dhubab; the map remains contested.
For commercial shipping, the stakes are immediate. Insurers, operators, and energy traders already treat the Red Sea as a high-risk corridor after earlier Houthi attacks on vessels. The group has threatened maritime traffic and Saudi-linked facilities. With the Strait of Hormuz under strain from the wider U.S.–Iran confrontation, Bab el-Mandeb has become an even more important alternative for oil and cargo. A prolonged disruption could force ships around the Cape of Good Hope, adding days, fuel costs, and insurance premiums.
Italy has moved to reinforce naval protection for merchant traffic, citing the deteriorating picture around the chokepoint. Other governments and navies are watching the same waterway. Djibouti has also received thousands of Yemenis fleeing the fighting across the strait.
The combination of coastal gains, island seizures, missile and drone use, and threats to ships and energy infrastructure has turned Yemen’s western littoral into a flashpoint that links a long-running civil war to global trade and great-power basing. Whether the Houthis can hold the new ground against air power and counterattacks — and whether they use it to interdict shipping more aggressively — will determine how far the crisis spreads beyond Yemen’s shoreline.
