Houthi Attacks Threaten Bab al-Mandeb as Hormuz Remains Choked
The collapse of Yemen's four-year truce has put the Bab al-Mandeb Strait at risk of a Houthi blockade, threatening a second major disruption to global crude supplies alongside the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Yemen’s four-year unofficial truce collapsed this week as Houthi rebels reignited conflict with the national military. The resumption of hostilities brings immediate threats to global energy trade, with the Iran-aligned group actively attempting to block the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
A closure of the waterway, a critical gateway to the Red Sea, would deal a severe blow to oil markets already reeling from the Strait of Hormuz shutdown. That ongoing chokepoint closure is currently strangling one-fifth of the world's crude oil trade. Losing the Bab al-Mandeb route simultaneously would almost certainly trigger a new global oil shock.
The Houthis have spent months threatening to render regional waters impassable for oil tankers. Their recent moves to execute that threat follow explicit pledges to fight alongside Iran. “The Yemen situation, or the entire Bab al-Mandeb region, has been on a powder keg from the first day of the war,” said Ibrahim Fraihat, a professor of international conflict resolution at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
While international markets focus on maritime chokepoints, Yemen's domestic energy infrastructure is simultaneously collapsing. In Aden, residents face power cuts lasting up to 20 hours a day. The Hiswa power station halted service over what authorities called a "network strike," while the President power station slashed output due to a lack of crude oil to run its generators.
Less than half of Yemen's population currently has electricity access. According to The New Arab, “the outages have disrupted daily life across the city, affecting water supply, health services, education and commercial activity.” The publication noted that “Many residents in districts including Al-Mualla, Sirah and Crater have been forced to sleep on the streets, in scenes that reflect the scale of hardship caused by prolonged power outages.”
Desperate citizens are turning to hazardous makeshift energy solutions. Shoddily installed solar-plus-battery systems have caused a surge in lethal fires. “We don’t know the exact technical reasons behind these solar energy fires, but the centre frequently receives patients from Taiz city and neighbouring governorates suffering from burns caused by battery fires,” said Dr. Mohammed Saeed, head of the emergency department at the burn unit of Al-Thawra Hospital.
The hazard is compounded by skyrocketing gas prices that have driven residents to convert vehicles to run on cooking fuel. “The number of fire incidents has increased significantly due to these alternative energy hazards, specifically the improper use of solar energy systems and the unregulated conversion of vehicles to cooking gas,” said Malik Al-Sabri, manager of planning and information for the Taiz police.
Yemeni leaders had hoped to resume trade with the United States to attract desperately needed investment into the energy sector. However, the rapid deterioration of both domestic energy supply and national security makes that economic recovery highly unlikely in the near term.
