Houthi advance on Aden supply route repelled, say Saudi-backed forces

Yemen's Saudi-backed forces said on Thursday that they had repelled overnight attacks by the Houthis on a key supply route to the southern port city of Aden, where the government is based. The mountain pass known as Hejat al-Abd is a lifeline for forces fighting on behalf of Yemen's Saudi-backed government, which has been hemmed in by a lightning Houthi advance this month linked to the war on Iran. The road is also critical for goods entering Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, and its southern and western rural areas, Reuters reported. It is the only route for residents seeking to travel abroad, with no commercial flights operating from Houthi-controlled areas. The Iran-aligned Houthis have kept up pressure on government forces as they seek to consolidate gains made nearly two weeks ago, when their offensive along Yemen's western coast brought them to the shores of the Red Sea's strategic Bab al-Mandab strait, through which at least ten percent of global maritime trade usually passes.