Houthis overrun Bab al-Mandab base as entire Saleh-loyalist division hit

Fighters from Yemen's Houthi militia entered a coastal military base overlooking the Red Sea's strategic Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday as a Saudi-led offensive against the rebel group entered its sixth day.

Officials told Reuters that soldiers from a division loyal to former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Yemen's southwestern Taiz province opened the gates to the base for the Houthis late on Tuesday night.

The division’s leaders also gave the Houthi fighters weapons and equipment, Yemen officials told Sky News Arabia.

News of the Houthis' movement toward Bab el-Mandeb has raised concerns about the impact on global shipping as more than 3.4 million barrels of oil reportedly pass through the strait every day.

Meanwhile Ahmed Asiri, a military spokesperson, said that the Saudi-led coalition had "completely destroyed" the 33rd brigade, an army unit in the southwestern province of Dalia that had been supporting the Houthis.

Despite the Houthi advance toward Bab el-Mandeb, the spokesman said that the rebels are cut off in the port city of Aden, which is being shelled from the sea by Egyptian warships.

“We [the Saudi-led coalition] are in control of the skies and ports of Yemen; the Houthis cannot get supplies,” Asiri told reporters in Riyadh on Tuesday evening.

“When it becomes necessary to launch a ground campaign, the coalition forces will be ready – there is a comprehensive military plan in place for ground, sea, air and psychological warfare." 

General Abdullah Dhaaban who commanded the 33rd division, said to be allied with Saleh, said in a Facebook post that his troops were being subjected to a "genocide".

Saudi Arabia has not published numbers of casualties, but UNICEF told AFP on Tuesday that 62 children had been killed since the operation began last week.

Asiri, the Saudi spokesperson, said that Houthi rebel fighters have begun “taking refuge” in Yemen’s cities, using guerrilla tactics in an attempt to evade the bombing of army bases and weapons depots.