Developing story
We are following this story for new developments and will update this article when significant news emerges. See the updates below.
Monitored since 15 November 2026 | last update 15 November 2026, 19:31 CET
Key takeaways
- Southern forces announced a redeployment from Dhubab Airport and Bab el-Mandeb; Reuters says Houthis hold the ground overlooking the strait.
- Reuters says the pullback gives the Houthis more leverage over shipping, but no stoppage at the strait has been established.
- Houthi missile fire on Aden preceded the withdrawal, and Taiz city remains besieged, according to Reuters and South24 Center.
Yemen's Southern Armed Forces announced on Sunday that they are pulling their units out of Dhubab Airport and the Bab el-Mandeb area, west of Taiz Governorate. Reuters reported that the withdrawal leaves the Iran-aligned Houthis in control of the area overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the strategic waterway linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. The Southern Armed Forces fight for Yemen's internationally recognised, Saudi-backed government.
The forces call it a "redeployment operation", not a retreat. Their statement said the step was taken "based on the priority of securing the capital, Aden, and the neighbouring governorates, as well as strengthening the front lines and addressing existing threats." Reuters called it a pullback. The statement also said the move would support efforts to break the Houthi siege of Taiz city and would have the backing of the Saudi-led coalition. No separate coalition announcement has been cited.
Where the troops went
A local military source in Aden told the South24 Center that the units moved to Al-Suqya, in the Al-Mudharaba and Ras Al-Ara district of western Lahj Governorate. The site lies next to the Bab el-Mandeb front and on routes toward Aden. The statement gave no troop numbers and did not say whether every unit in the sector had left. It stressed that the move did not end military operations. In a separate statement, the government's military spokesperson welcomed the forces' position. He said retaking Bab el-Mandeb and the western coast was an inherent right of the armed forces.
Control of the area has shifted more than once since September, according to South24. Houthi forces seized Dhubab and Perim (Mayun) Island in the strait in September, as earlier Crisis.Zone reporting covered. In October, government-aligned forces launched a campaign to retake the coast, with Saudi air support, according to South24. On 5 October the Southern Giants Brigades said they had captured Dhubab Military Airport and cut the main road between Mokha and the Bab el-Mandeb area. The recapture was never complete. Two days later South24 reported, citing a military source, that the Houthis still held parts of Dhubab district and Mayyun Island.
Observers are reading: how the Aden missile campaign, the six-week coastal gain and the Yanbu bypass fit one Iran-versus-Gulf pressure pattern.
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What to watch next
As of Sunday, no direct Houthi response to the announcement had appeared in the reports reviewed, and none of them mentioned a separate coalition statement. Four things will show whether the leverage turns into pressure: a public Houthi reaction, a coalition confirmation of its backing, any change in ship behaviour at Bab el-Mandeb, and the situation in Taiz.
Taiz city hosts about half of the 300,000 people displaced across Yemen by the latest fighting, Reuters reported. It remains besieged, with aid unable to enter and civilians unable to leave. The Southern Armed Forces say the redeployment is meant to ease that. Whether it does depends on ground they have just left.
Updates
15 November 2026, 19:31 CET
A Houthi missile attack on a checkpoint in Khor Omeira, Lahj province, killed at least five people and wounded at least eight on Sunday, according to AFP sources. The Houthis claimed a full government withdrawal from Bab el-Mandeb and said they were advancing towards Aden, while military sources reported further Houthi gains in Lahj.
15 November 2026, 19:31 CET
A Houthi missile attack at Khor Omeira in Lahj province on Sunday killed eight people and wounded 12, AFP reported citing military and government sources, raising an earlier toll of five dead. A government military source told Xinhua the missile hit vehicles carrying families fleeing the fighting; a Houthi source said the group had targeted government troop gatherings. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two Houthi ballistic missiles aimed at Riyadh and three drones over the Eastern Province.
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