Yemen’s Houthi movement has reportedly seized the Red Sea port city of Mokha from Saudi-backed forces supporting the country’s government, according to military sources.
The reported takeover would give the Iran-backed Houthis a position closer to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a major shipping passage about 75km south of Mokha. The waterway connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
Footage aired by the Houthi-run Al Masirah television channel purported to show Houthi fighters in Mokha. The source information did not include confirmation of the city’s capture from the Saudi-backed pro-government side.
Fighting and displacement
The development follows a Houthi offensive launched a week earlier in Yemen’s south-western coastal region. Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed and thousands displaced during the fighting.
The advance has coincided with a sharp escalation in exchanges between the Houthis and neighbouring Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities said the Houthis launched dozens of drones and missiles at southern Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, injuring 73 civilians and setting fires at several oil facilities. The fires led to a temporary suspension of operations at the affected facilities, according to the authorities.
The Houthis said the attack was a response to dozens of Saudi air strikes in north-western Yemen in recent days. Among them was a strike on a prison in Hazm, in Jawf province, which local officials said killed at least 23 civilians.
Unravelling ceasefire
A Saudi-led coalition of Arab states has supported Yemen’s government in its conflict with the Houthis for more than a decade. An informal ceasefire that had lasted four years began to deteriorate in July after the Houthis announced what they described as a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia.
Since then, the group has carried out missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea. The Houthis have said these actions are retaliation for a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in territory they control, as well as an air strike on Sanaa airport that they blamed on Saudi Arabia.
The Red Sea has become particularly important for Saudi oil exports amid the US and Israel’s war with Iran, which the source says has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf. The latest reported advance around Mokha could further raise the strategic significance of Yemen’s western coastline and the nearby Bab al-Mandab route.
Source: BBC News
