Yemen's government forces push Houthis back to Mocha on Red Sea coast

Yemeni government forces made a rapid advance on Monday to retake the coast around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait up to the port city of Mocha, the government said, pushing the Iran-backed Houthis out of most of the areas they seized last month.

The forces of the internationally recognised government, backed by heavy Saudi air strikes, reached the outskirts of Mocha late on Monday as Houthi fighters retreated into the highlands, four government sources said, ARY News reported, citing Reuters. Yemen’s Defence Ministry said the city had fallen.

The Houthis hit back

In response, the Houthis said they had attacked key targets in Saudi Arabia:

• King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh
• An Aramco refinery in Rabigh
• Abha International Airport
• The Khamis Mushait military base

The claims could not be independently verified, and Saudi Arabia and Aramco did not immediately respond.

Why the strait matters

The Bab el-Mandeb is a vital route for oil and trade through the Red Sea. If confirmed, the advance would loosen the Houthis’ grip on it at a time when Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz is already roiling energy markets. The group could still attack ships with drones from other positions.

Taiz under siege

While the coast changed hands, the Houthis pressed on elsewhere:

• Al-Turbah: Houthi fighters made new advances into the town on Sunday, five government military sources said, though another source denied it
• Al-Mawasit: a Houthi-run news agency said the group had driven government forces from the district, reaching the home of Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s presidential council
• Taiz: the city of more than half a million people and its garrison of thousands of government fighters are now surrounded by Houthi forces, government sources said
• Supply lines: the Houthis damaged a culvert on the Taiz-Aden road, making it impassable

In al-Mudhaffar, just outside Taiz but inside the besieged area, long queues formed at a petrol station as people waited for fuel and cooking gas.

A war reignited

Yemen’s dormant civil war erupted again weeks ago as a spillover from the US-Iran conflict. The Houthis have sought to control the Bab el-Mandeb and have fired missiles and drones at Saudi cities and infrastructure. The heaviest fighting has been in the southwest, on the coast near the strait and in the hills around Taiz.

Pakistan and its allies respond

On Monday, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye agreed at a meeting in Riyadh to rapidly deploy forces in the kingdom under their Makkah defence pact. They condemned “in the strongest terms” the attempted targeting of Makkah and Madina and the continuing attacks on Saudi cities and civilian facilities.

The human cost

Besieged cities, cut roads and queues for fuel and cooking gas show the toll on ordinary Yemenis, who need a lasting ceasefire more than any battlefield gain.

Why it matters

Control of Mocha and the strait would shift the balance on Yemen’s coast and could ease pressure on Red Sea shipping. But the siege of Taiz and the Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia show the war is far from over. Read our reports on the Makkah Pact deployment and on the start of the government offensive.

This article draws on reporting by ARY News and Reuters.