Yemen | Houthis take over important port city of Mocha in Yemen

Yemeni soldiers near the strategically important Bab el-Mandeb Street. Photo: dpa/AP/Abdulnasser Alseddik Sanaa.  According to Yemeni military circles and eyewitness reports, the Houthi militia has captured the strategically important port city of Mocha on Yemen's west coast. The Iranian-backed militia thus controls an important access to the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. 

In Yemen, the Iran-backed Houthis are fighting the Saudi-backed government and allied militias. The forces allied with the government had moved their weapons and equipment from Mocha to an area south of the city, military sources told the German Press Agency. This is part of a reorganization of troop deployment in the area near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Houthi-affiliated media and social network users distributed videos purporting to show militia patrols inside Mocha. The recordings could not be independently verified. 

The Houthi-controlled Saba news agency reported that "enemy groups" on the west coast had been driven out. The German Press Agency learned from militia circles that the Houthis had also reached areas in the immediate vicinity of the strait, including the islands of Hanisch and Zukar. However, circles within the internationally recognized government said that the islands were still in the hands of the so-called resistance forces.

These so-called National Resistance Forces, which had previously controlled Mocha, withdrew. Commander Tarik Salih, the nephew of the slain ex-president Ali Abdullah Salih, said he had ordered the fighters to withdraw to a safe place south of the city.

Mocha is located immediately north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Along with the Strait of Hormuz, it is one of the world's most important shipping routes. From Mocha, the Houthis can attack or disrupt commercial and other ships in the Red Sea even more specifically than before. The Houthis have attacked ships there several times in recent years, sometimes sinking them or hijacking them. 

Since the outbreak of the Iran War, the Bab al-Mandab has been used as an alternative trade route to compensate for losses through the Strait of Hormuz. After several years without any major fighting, the conflict has now flared up again in the wake of the Iran War. 

The Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out more than 60 airstrikes in several provinces within 24 hours. The kingdom entered the war militarily in 2015 and has been looking for a way out in recent years. However, the threat from neighboring Yemen, from where the Houthis have attacked oil facilities and civilian targets in Saudi Arabia, continues. 

The head of the Houthi High Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, said the situation in Mocha had stabilized after the fighting. Amnesty was offered to the “misled” fighters who laid down their weapons and “came to their senses.” 

The Houthis are supported by Iran and also act in Tehran's interests. Above all, they pursue their own interests and want to maintain and expand their power in Yemen.  dpa/nd

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