Intense Fighting Escalates Across Yemen as Government Forces and Houthis Clash Over Strategic Ports and Territory

Fighting has intensified on several fronts in Yemen as government forces have carried out air attacks on Houthi positions in attempts to retake Mocha, days after the Iran-backed group captured the strategic port city, tightening its grip on the Red Sea – a vital shipping lane.

The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah (supporters of God), have accused Saudi Arabia of launching more than 100 air attacks on Yemen within the past 48 hours. Saudi Arabia backs the internationally recognised government, which has described the latest fighting as a “battle for survival”. The fighting has forced tens of thousands of Yemenis from their homes, including more than 2,000 who headed to Djibouti.

On Saturday, Yemeni government forces said they had launched air attacks on Houthi fighters along the Red Sea coast after the group seized full control of the strategic shoreline. Yemen’s government news agency, Saba, reported that “the armed forces destroyed vehicles and weapons and killed members of the Houthi terrorist militia backed by the Iranian regime” near the port city of Mocha.

The spokesperson for the government forces, Majed Abdullah al-Nazili, said they also struck the Houthis’ “vehicles and members” on the Mocha-Dhubab road, 11km (7 miles) from the city, according to Saba. The government’s attacks came after the Houthis captured Mocha on Thursday and the island of Mayyun (also known as Perim) on Friday, completing their hold on the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a narrow waterway vital to global oil shipping.

On Sunday, Sultan al-Arada, a member of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) and governor of Marib, said government forces that withdrew from the west coast are currently regrouping in Marib and will return to the battlefield.