Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels have seized two strategic islands in the Red Sea, reinforcing the Iran-backed group\u2019s ability to control a key shipping route, as concerns mount that the world is facing a new oil supply crisis.<\/p>\n
The seizure of the islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish is the latest in the militant group\u2019s swift advance across Yemen\u2019s Red Sea coast, after the capture of the port of Mokha and Perim island<\/a> in the Bab al-Mandab strait.<\/p>\n The islands lie 160km north of the strait which is a chokepoint that connects the Red Sea to the open ocean and Saudi Arabia\u2019s key Asian markets<\/a>.<\/p>\n The speed of the Houthis\u2019 advance has left Yemen\u2019s Saudi-backed government trying to claw back territory captured by the militants in recent days, while Riyadh grapples with attacks on a critical oil pipeline<\/a> by Iran-allied militants in Iraq.<\/p>\n Threats from Houthis have left Saudi Arabia<\/a> on high alert, with air alerts flashing across the country daily, while a series of attacks carried out by the militant group using ballistic missiles and drones wounded 13 civilians on Monday.<\/p>\n Nearly 94,000 people in Yemen have fled their homes since fighting between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and government forces escalated this month<\/a>, the International Organization for Migration said on Monday. About 200 schools have been converted to shelters in south-western Yemen to absorb an influx of families, the International Rescue Committee said.<\/p>\n More than 2,000 people have reportedly fled across the sea into Djibouti. The Houthi advance puts them just 32km from a US military base in the tiny country on the Horn of Africa, on the other side of the Bab al-Mandab strait.<\/p>\n