Special to WorldTribune.com

Yemeni forces, bolstered by the Saudi-led coalition, have regained control of one of the world’s most strategic waterways.

“The Bab al-Mandab Strait is now under the total control of our troops,” Yemeni Gen. Turki Ahmed told AFP on Oct. 2. The strait was “brought under our control with the help of coalition forces, who provided ground, naval and air support.”

Ahmed helped lead an offensive against Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Oct. 1 in which Yemeni forces seized the island of Mayyun (Perim) between the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Much of the world’s maritime traffic passes through the Bab al-Manab Strait, which funnels shipping to and from the Suez Canal.

The Houthis confirmed losing control of the strait but continue to hold the capital of Sanaa and northern provinces near the Saudi border.

“The Houthis and their allies retreated to Mokha,” a Red Sea port to the north, Ahmed said. “We are awaiting orders from the political leadership and President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi for the next move in the offensive.”

The president and his government returned to Yemen and are now based in Aden after six months of exile in Saudi Arabia.

Officials said that Aden, Yemen’s temporary capital, “was targeted on Thursday (Sept. 30) by a Scud missile which hit a suburb west of the city.”

  Abbed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, Aden, Bab al-Mandab Strait, Iran-backed rebels still hold capital, Sanaa, WorldTribune.com, Yemen loyalists reclaim strategic waterway