Fighting in Yemen over the past month has created new risks for global energy markets, as clashes intensify near critical shipping routes in the Red Sea. According to Al-Jazeera, the National Resistance Forces, which support Yemen’s government, said more than 500 of their troops were killed during that period, while about 1,500 were killed in battles with Houthi fighters.
The same source said the National Resistance Forces claimed Houthi losses were even higher, with more than 1,000 killed and thousands wounded. Al-Jazeera stressed, however, that it was unable to verify those figures through independent sources.
Over the past week, the Houthis first captured Yemen’s key Red Sea port of Mocha, then took full control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline and seized Perim island near the entrance to the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
Those developments have heightened concerns over global oil supplies. Markets were already under pressure because shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had been disrupted during the US and Israeli war against Iran, and the latest events add another layer of risk in the Red Sea corridor.
According to the National Resistance Forces, fierce fighting is continuing, with the Houthis trying to advance in southern and northern Yemen. The Houthis, officially known as “Ansar Allah,” are backed by Iran and are part of the Iran-led “axis of resistance.”
