Yemeni government forces say they have 'secured' Bab al-Mandab Strait

The Houthis also said they had launched ballistic missiles and drones at oil sites belonging to Saudi Aramco in Riyadh and the Khurais area of Saudi Arabia in retaliation for dozens of Saudi strikes on their territory.Yemen has been devastated by a civil war that began in 2014, when the Houthis ousted the government from Sanaa. The conflict escalated in 2015, after a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states intervened in an attempt to restore the government's rule.A four-year-old informal ceasefire began to unravel in July, when the Houthis announced a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia and began missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea.The Houthis said they were retaliating for a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in their territory, as well as an air strike on Sanaa airport that they blamed on the kingdom.Last month, the Houthis launched a surprise offensive along Yemen's south-western Red Sea coast and quickly ousted pro-government forces from areas overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait, including Dhubab, Mokha and Perim (Mayyun) Island.They said they posed no threat to international shipping passing through the waterway but that they would continue to target vessels from Saudi Arabia.At least 959 people have been killed and 5,000 injured in the fighting in Yemen since 6 August, according to the government's health ministry.The UN says another 197,000 people have been displaced.