An armed group imposes control over the maritime passage south of Bab Al Mandeb

An armed group imposed control on Wednesday over one of the most important maritime passages off the Yemeni coast.
Exclusive – Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:
Armed fighters on fast boats launched a series of attacks in the Gulf of Aden, near the southern entrance of Bab Al-Mandeb, one of the region’s most crucial maritime passages.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported in statements that there was unprecedented activity by armed fighters, specifically off the eastern coast of Yemen.
In recent hours, the armed fighters carried out a series of operations in the passage, most notably targeting the cockpit of a cargo ship with an (RPG) round, causing its malfunction. The militants also chased other ships off the coast of the Shabwa governorate specifically.
Since the beginning of the year, the region has witnessed over five operations targeting ships, including the hijacking of an Emirati oil tanker that was taken with its Egyptian crew off the Somali coast, where they are demanding a ransom in exchange for the crew.
No party has claimed responsibility for these attacks. It is also unclear whether the Somali Al-Shabaab movement, which is highly active on the other side of the Gulf, plays a role or if it is part of the escalating conflict between Gulf factions over the maritime passage, especially after Saudi Arabia succeeded in expelling Emirati forces from the Yemeni side of the Gulf of Aden earlier this year through an operation against its factions and Abu Dhabi’s decision to respond by controlling the Somali tongue on the Gulf of Aden and Bab Al-Mandeb via an agreement with the separatists in the Somaliland region.
However, the timing of the escalating operations indicates a notable development that could complicate the navigation route in the region, especially with Yemen’s threat of the possibility of closing