Nabil watched from his balcony as a column of displaced people passed by at dawn on September 10, hours before Houthi forces entered Mocha, a Yemeni city on the Red Sea. There was fear everywhere,” he said. Nabil, a daily wage labourer in his 40s, did not join them.
He still lives in Yakhtul, a village north of Mocha, alongside relatives, none of whom has left their homes. The Houthis – an armed group that has controlled much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, since September 2014 – have fought the government for more than a decade in a civil war that has drawn in a Saudi-led military coalition. No one knows how many people remain in Mocha, but according to Yemen’s last census in 2004 the city had 62,500 residents.
The government has declared Mocha a military zone and alleged that the Houthis have forced residents to demonstrate in support of the group or join its ranks. Residents interviewed by Al Jazeera did not describe forced demonstrations, but one who asked not to be identified because he feared for his safety said three of his neighbours have been recruited and armed by the Houthis. They are now on the front lines fighting against government forces.
One of her sons even spoke to me about it himself.” The truck left after she refused, he said. Mocha’s port lies about 75km (45 miles) north of the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a chokepoint for Red Sea shipping that the Houthis have repeatedly targeted since late 2023. After government-aligned forces recaptured Mocha in 2017, the city became a refuge for Yemenis fleeing Houthi-controlled territory.
That changed in early September when fighting moved down the coast and families fled towards Aden, Taiz and Lahij. Many had already escaped Houthi rule once before. On the evening of September 10, the government declared Mocha and its surroundings a “kill box”, a strike zone, warning that any Houthi movement there would be met with available firepower.
Attacks began the following day. Now residents say that leaving Mocha is almost impossible. Prices have soared, and power cuts have grown frequent, Nabil said.
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