taz says the Houthis hold Bab al-Mandab; Asharq Al-Awsat says the government is attacking them

The strait. taz writes that "the Yemeni militia has brought the Bab al-Mandab strait under its control", and that this further restricts world oil trade. Al-Modon reports Riyadh asking Israel to help "prevent the Houthi from closing Bab al-Mandab" — a request that presumes it is open. The Media Line has Houthi Red Sea control "expanding". Control of a coastline and closure of a waterway are different claims, and these reports do not agree on which has happened.

Who is on the offensive.

Nobody is counted. No report of the five names a person killed or hurt, and none gives a number. Two measure the strait in oil and world trade instead. Two call one side a militia or rebels; one calls the other internationally recognised.

Not settled. Whether the strait is held, closed, or neither. Whether Riyadh asked Israel for anything — Al-Modon alone carries it. Whether the government is attacking on the coast or defending Marib: we hold a headline from Asharq Al-Awsat and a headline plus one line from The Media Line, and they put the same forces on opposite sides.

What this is about. A war inside Yemen has reached the Bab al-Mandab, a narrow strait that much of the world's shipping passes through.

How it got here. - In September 2014 the Houthis, an armed movement from Yemen's north that calls itself Ansar Allah, took the capital, Sanaa. The government recognised by the United Nations was forced out. - In March 2015 a coalition led by Saudi Arabia went to war to restore that government. - A UN-brokered truce in April 2022 largely stopped the big offensives. Saudi Arabia and the Houthis then held direct talks. The war was never formally ended. - From November 2023, after the war in Gaza began, the Houthis attacked ships in the Red Sea. The United States and Britain struck Houthi targets from January 2024. - Early this month, the war on the ground restarted. On 8 September LBCI reported Houthi strikes on Saudi oil facilities. By 10 September the Houthis had taken the port of Mokha and an island in the strait. Asharq Al-Awsat reports that the government called it a "painful" defeat.

Who is in it. - The Houthis hold Sanaa and most of Yemen's north. Asharq Al-Awsat calls them "Iran-backed". How much Iran directs them is disputed. - The recognised government holds the south and Marib, a city in the centre. It relies on Saudi support. - Saudi Arabia shares a long border with Yemen and led the 2015 war. - The United States, under President Donald Trump, has fought the Houthis at sea. Haaretz writes that Trump has now left the problem to Riyadh.

What is at stake. The strait links the Red Sea and the Suez Canal to the Indian Ocean. Asharq Al-Awsat calls it a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. If one armed group controls it, oil and trade costs rise worldwide. Inside Yemen, the UN estimates that more than 80,000 people have been displaced since the start of September, Asharq Al-Awsat reports.

Where it stands. The government says it is sending more forces to the coast. Haaretz writes that Riyadh must choose between another war and recognising the Houthis. None of the reports we hold says whether ships can still pass through the strait.