The Steep Road To Yemen’s Capital: How One Mountain Pass Controls 7% Of Global Oil Supply

The fighting has been frozen since a truce in 2022, but the temperature is rising again. You look at a map and see lines drawn on paper, but down in Yemen, it is just people trying to survive. Officials say the Saudi-backed government forces repelled overnight attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis on a key supply route. This push targets the steep winding mountain pass known as Hejat al-Abd, which serves as a lifeline for the forces fighting on behalf of the government.

The government forces are currently hemmed in by a lightning Houthi advance this month. This road is not just a dirt track. It is the only route for residents seeking to travel abroad, as there are no commercial flights operating from the Houthi-controlled areas. It is also critical for goods entering Taiz, which is Yemen’s third-largest city and its southern and western rural areas. If the Houthis break through here, it could allow them to tighten their grip on Taiz and deal another blow to the administration.

The stakes for the government go beyond just holding a road. Aden is the southern port city where the internationally recognised administration is based. Seizing parts of the Taiz-Aden road could allow the Houthis to tighten their grip around Taiz. The Houthis have kept up pressure on government forces as they seek to consolidate gains they made nearly two weeks ago. This offensive along Yemen’s Red Sea coast brought them to the shores of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb waterway.

The geography here is controlling the flow of the world. The Houthis seized the port of Mocha before taking the remaining Red Sea coastline and islands. This extended their control to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the mouth of the Red Sea. It is one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and forming a key artery for trade between Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal. According to Kpler data, about 7 percent of global oil output passed through the strait in June.