Thread

The Houthis seized Mayun Island, also known as Perim Island, in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, according to various reports from the region. The small volcanic island is strategically important because it sits inside the strait and divides the waterway into two shipping channels. Control of Mayun gives the Houthis a significant position from which to monitor and potentially threaten commercial vessels transiting between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The seizure comes just one day after the Houthis captured the strategic port city of Mocha and as their forces advance toward Dhubab on the Yemeni mainland. Together, these gains put the Houthis in a substantially stronger position around one of the world's most important maritime chokepoints.