Somalia’s president accuses the Houthis of destabilising the region and disrupting navigation in Bab el-Mandeb

Somalia’s President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, today accused Yemen’s Houthis of destabilising the region and disrupting navigation in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, in a new statement that adds to the international chorus of condemnations of the Iran-backed group, as Al Jazeera reports.

Mohamud said he would have liked to see a united and peaceful Yemen, working for its own future, but argued that the Houthis are not capable of achieving it. His statement came as the fighting in Yemen continues to escalate and Yemeni government forces, backed by Saudi Arabia, claim to have killed hundreds of Houthi fighters in the last 24 hours.

Bab el-Mandeb, the southern gate of the Red Sea, has turned into one of the regional conflict’s hottest points, after the Houthis strengthened their control over it and threatened commercial navigation — a development that comes in parallel with Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition rejected as “deceptive” the Houthis’ claims of an attack on the Saudi capital, saying the group is seeking “illusory victories” to divert attention from the losses it is suffering in Taiz and on other fronts.