Yemen · updated 2h ago · 3 min read
Yemen’s Houthis Seize Strategic Red Sea Port City of Mocha, Expanding Bab al-Mandeb Control
Houthis seized the Red Sea port city of Mocha in Taiz province. Move extends Houthi control toward Bab al-Mandeb, threatening global shipping.
Whether Mocha control threatens shipping.
2 of 3 outlets skipped it: houthis seized Zuqar Island after assaults.
Reuters was read line by line by the Watchdog: 2.8. See the score →
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Al Jazeera
“This gives the Houthis the eyes, the ears, and the pressure to monitor international trade.”Read the original ↗
The Jerusalem Post
“Yemen posed no threat to shipping and that ongoing Houthi operations were defensive and limited to previously announced targets.”Read the original ↗
Al Jazeera stresses Mocha gives leverage over trade routes, while the Jerusalem Post highlights Houthi assurances that shipping remains safe.
Mocha falls to Houthis
Yemen’s Houthis seized the strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha on Thursday as internationally recognised government forces withdrew, expanding control over the Bab al-Mandeb strait, according to sources cited by Al Jazeera’s Yemen correspondent Yousef Mawry and Reuters.A
“The Yemeni government tried to put up a fight; they called reinforcements”
Mawry said the Yemeni government “tried to put up a fight; they called reinforcements … but the overwhelming military pressure of the Ansar Allah Houthis eventually [led to them taking] over the port and the city itself,” and he added that the strategic district of Hais was also seized.
Reuters and other outlets described Mocha as a key position along the Red Sea coastline, with Al Jazeera reporting that Houthi control of the port means they also control the Bab al-Mandeb strait.A
Al Jazeera quoted defence analyst Wolfgang Pusztai saying seizing Mocha was a major development because it puts the Yemeni rebels in a position to cut off the road leading to Taiz, a “very significant blow against the government,” and it enables them to “control pretty much all of Yemen’s coast on the Red Sea” and Bab al-Mandeb.A
Al Jazeera also reported that the Houthis were trying to push west of Taiz over the past 10 days with the objective of taking over Mocha, while they were nearing complete control of other coastal cities directly along the strait.A
Accusations and competing frames
Yemen’s ambassador to Qatar, Rajeh Badi, accused Iran of reigniting the war after a lull of about five years and using the Houthis to tighten its grip on Red Sea shipping routes, telling Al Jazeera that the relationship between Iran and the Houthis was “no longer a secret.”
Badi said Tehran was “doubling down on the Houthis as its remaining lever” and that its grip over “these two choke points would be more powerful than any nuclear arsenal,” as he argued the Yemeni government tried to resist but was overwhelmed by Ansar Allah.
In a different framing, France 24 reported that witnesses told AFP of fighters marching on the area chanting “death to America, death to Israel,” and it quoted a Yemeni military source saying the Iran-backed Houthis were advancing towards the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait “after having taken control of Mocha.”
France 24 also reported that Tarek Saleh, who heads the Yemeni National Resistance Forces that controlled Mocha, said he moved his command centre “to a safe location” to regroup, while adding that government forces had paid “a heavy price” in recent days.
Kurdistan24 similarly described the advance as raising “fresh concerns over shipping and oil exports” through the Bab al-Mandab chokepoint, while AFP tallies cited by the outlet said more than 500 people had been killed since the latest fighting began.
What’s at stake next
The capture of Mocha and the push toward Bab al-Mandeb raised concerns about maritime security and the ability to disrupt global trade, with Al Jazeera reporting that Pusztai said the Houthis could control the narrower Bab al-Mandeb strait at about 20km (12 miles) using artillery.A
“Bab al-Mandeb strait is much narrower at about 20km (12 miles)”
Kurdistan24 reported that the strait is about 100 kilometers long and only around 30 kilometers wide at its narrowest point, and it said it separates Yemen from Djibouti and Eritrea while serving as a key maritime link between Europe and Asia.
France 24 reported that the Houthis also seized Zuqar Island in the southern Red Sea “after rocket attacks and a ground assault carried out using boats transporting fighters,” and it said the advance in Mocha and nearby areas of Khokha and Hays drove many people to flee to Aden.
The Guardian reported that the fighting has raised questions about whether Saudi Arabia, which launched as many as 40 airstrikes on Houthi targets on Thursday, will activate the Mecca defence agreement and ask Pakistan and Turkey to send forces, while noting the pact is designed to be defensive.
In the background of the offensive, Al Jazeera reported that Pakistan has warned Iran to restrain the group and said its defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye could become operational if Houthi attacks on Saudi territory persist, after the three nations finalised the Mecca Defence Alliance last month.A