Yemen's Houthis seized control of the strategic Red Sea port city of Mokha on Thursday and were advancing towards the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a Yemeni military source said. Witnesses said they saw Houthi forces entering the city while chanting "death to America, death to Israel". The city which has been held by Yemen’s internationally recognised government has been under sustained attack since early August, when more than 25 missiles struck it in a matter of days and forced port operations to halt.
The Yemeni government is yet to publicly confirm Mokha has fallen. The Houthis, who control about one-third of Yemen's territory — albeit the most densely populated parts — are vying to seize and potentially disrupt the narrow waterway which links Asia to Europe via the Red Sea and Suez Canal. Together with Hormuz, cargo traffic through Bab el-Mandeb accounts for one quarter of daily petroleum and crude shipments, and nearly one-third of the world's maritime trade.
The Houthis have also reportedly consulted with Tehran on imposing a safe passage toll through the strait over the summer, in an apparent plot to further strain global economies. Yemen's government has repeatedly warned of Houthi plans for taking control of the waterway, whose name in Arabic means "Gate of Tears". Major-General Sadeq Duwaid, spokesman for the Yemeni government-affiliated National Resistance Forces controlling areas adjacent to the strait, earlier warned that the Houthi siege of Mokha was a key manoeuvre to build operational footing along the Red Sea coast.
"Through their continued attacks on Mokha and its port, the Houthi militia seeks to establish a presence along the shores of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and transform the area into a situation resembling that of the Strait of Hormuz," Major-General Duwaid said in mid-August. The coastal town of Dhubab and Perim Island — a rocky volcanic island that sits in the middle of the strait and divides it into two shipping channels — are now considered to be the Houthis' central military objective. Formally known as Ansar Allah, the Houthis launched a large-scale offensive last week against government forces backed by Saudi Arabia.
They also launched attacks on Saudi territory that left dozens wounded, leading Riyadh to respond with daily strikes on Houthi-held territory. The Houthis reported on Thursday that about 40 airstrikes were launched by Saudi forces in a fresh salvo. "The Saudi enemy's air force conducted around 40 strikes in recent hours in the governorates of Taiz, Hodeida, Al-Jawf and Marib," Houthi news agency Saba said.
On Wednesday the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said the group fired ballistic missiles and drones at several cities in southern Saudi Arabia. The Saudi civil defence issued alerts warning of "potential danger" in two areas, Khamis Mushait and Abha. The Houthis came to power in late 2014 after storming Sana'a and seizing the presidential palace and key military sites, forcing Yemen's government into exile.
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