SANA’A -- Yemen's Armed Forces said on Saturday they have consolidated control over the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait after a lightning advance along the western coast, adding they responded to increased Saudi air support for its adversaries with missile and drone strikes deep into Saudi territory.

Military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement that the armed forces "in a lightning operation, in less than two weeks, succeeded in advancing in the south and coastal areas and liberating areas overlooking the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait".

He said the Saudi-led occupation, in response to these advances, "has increased the volume of its air attacks against Yemen in an effort to support its mercenaries".

"Yemen has responded to this with missile and drone strikes deep into Saudi territory," Saree added.

The Sana’a-based Ministry of Transport and Public Works has released a series of official statistics in recent weeks detailing vessel traffic through Bab al-Mandab, in what analysts describe as an effort to project an image of responsible maritime governance.

In a report issued on Sept. 23, the ministry announced that 408 commercial ships transited the strait between Sept. 11 and 21, with 196 vessels heading north and 212 heading south — an average of more than 40 commercial and container ships per day.

The ministry compared this to the period of Sept. 1–10, when 393 vessels transited the waterway.

The ministry said international commercial shipping through the strait "continues normally and safely" for all vessels "except those of the Saudi enemy". It said the increase in traffic followed the "liberation" of western coast districts on Sept. 10.

Yemen’s Al-Masirah TV reported earlier that 73 international vessels crossed the strait over a 48-hour period, equivalent to 98.6 percent of the average daily traffic recorded before Ansarullah imposed a ban on Saudi vessels on July 20.

It stressed that "international navigation remained free, safe and smooth," while Saudi vessels remained excluded.

Sana’a-based sources told Al-Akhbar that vessel transits rose from 27 ships per day prior to Sept. 11 to more than 40 commercial ships and oil tankers daily thereafter, and that commercial navigation currently stands at approximately 70 percent of pre-crisis levels.

The Sana’a-based government has also pursued direct communication with major international powers regarding shipping.

Reuters reported in July that China established direct contacts with Sana’a to obtain assurances that Chinese oil tankers would not be targeted while transiting the southern Red Sea, following the group's announcement of a "navigation ban" on shipping bound for Saudi ports.

According to a Financial Times report citing two European diplomats, Sana’a sent a message to the European Union's External Action Service on Sept. 10 — the same day it seized the port of Mocha — pledging that European vessels "will not be targeted" by its operations.

The message emphasized that Ansarullah's operations are not aimed at halting international shipping or restricting freedom of passage through Bab al-Mandab.

Ansarullah spokesman Muhammed Abdul-Salam said in a statement posted on X that "freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab remained safe and regular," insisting that Yemen’s operations pose "no threat" to international shipping. He said the group's military operations had specific targets and were "defensive" in nature.

The developments mark what analysts describe as a new phase in Yemen’s policy toward Bab al-Mandab — one that seeks not to present the strait as closed, but as a waterway where traffic continues under rules and boundaries set by Sana’a.