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The conflict in West Asia has broadened sharply as Yemen’s Houthi movement has aggravated attacks on Saudi Arabia while making territorial gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast. The intensification has brought the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical global shipping route, into the centre of the wider war and raised fresh security concerns in Saudi Arabia, including around Mecca.
Inside the Houthis-Saudi Arabia clash
The recent escalation follows the breakdown of the relative quiet that had prevailed in Yemen since the UN-backed truce reduced large-scale fighting in 2022.
In September, Houthi forces launched attacks against southern Saudi Arabia, including strikes that Saudi authorities said wounded dozens and crippled energy facilities. The group has also declared a blockade targeting Saudi-linked shipping.
Simultaneously, Saudi-backed Yemeni forces have launched counterattacks against Houthi positions.
The renewed clashes are happening against the backdrop of the wider US-Iran conflict, with the Houthis aligned with Iran and being engaged in the regional confrontation.
What happened near Mecca?
The most sensitive occurrence came on September 15, when Saudi authorities intercepted a Houthi drone south of Mecca before it entered restricted airspace around the holy city.
Saudi Arabia regarded the security of Mecca and the other holy sites as a red line. The Houthis, however, have rejected targeting Mecca, with Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi calling the Saudi allegation false.
Why is the Red Sea strategically crucial?
The Houthis' territorial gains are especially massive because of their location.
The group has expanded along Yemen’s western coast and captured Mocha, while also seizing Perim Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to recent reports.
Bab el-Mandeb connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and is a major route for ships travelling between Europe and Asia.
The waterway has become even more important because disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz have increased the importance of alternative routes for Gulf energy exports. In 2024, an average of about 4.1 million barrels per day of crude oil and petroleum products crossed through Bab el-Mandeb, according to data cited by Al Jazeera.
How could this impact oil and global trade?
The conflict creates a risk of another massive disruption to global shipping. Saudi Arabia has increased its reliance on Red Sea export routes as the wider regional conflict affects Hormuz. Any sustained Houthi threat around Bab el-Mandeb could force shipping companies to avoid the route, increasing sailing distances, insurance costs and freight rates.