Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have secured effective control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Yemen's Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani told Reuters on Monday, though fighting continues with Houthi forces in the area.
The government forces advanced rapidly along the coast with heavy Saudi air support to seize key positions in the Dhubab area on the narrowest point of the strait, a vital oil route whose seizure by the Iran-backed Houthis last month sent shockwaves through energy markets.
However, while Eryani said the military had seized Dhubab airstrip, located just inland from the strait, and cut off remaining Houthi forces in the area, another government source said fighting continued at a military base near the strait.
The Houthis earlier denied that government forces had made gains, describing such claims as "completely untrue," and they threatened to attack any aircraft flying in Saudi airspace.