Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis took control of the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Friday, after capturing an island located in the middle of the crucial Red Sea waterway, a local government official and eyewitnesses said. "Boats carrying armed Houthi fighters reached Mayyun Island after government forces withdrew from it yesterday," the official said, referring to a rocky volcanic island also known as Perim that divides the narrowest part of the strait into two shipping lanes. "The Houthis have completed their takeover of the Bab el-Mandeb area and Mayyun Island, which is located in the middle of the strait," he added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
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