Yemen's government says it retook Mokha as Houthis tighten grip on Taiz
Yemen's Saudi-backed government said Monday that its forces retook the Red Sea port of Mokha from the Iran-backed Houthis. Reuters said troops had reached the city's outskirts, and the Houthis called the claims baseless. The rebels also pushed onto a mountain road near Taiz, leaving Yemen's third-largest city surrounded, government military sources told Reuters.
Yemen's Saudi-backed government said on Monday that its forces had retaken Mokha, a Red Sea port the Iran-backed Houthis seized last month. The Defense Ministry said the city had fallen. Yemen's state news agency, SABA, said three government-allied forces took the city after fierce fighting with air support, Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera reported.
Reuters gave a more careful picture. Four government sources told it that troops reached the outskirts of Mokha late Monday as Houthi fighters pulled back into the highlands. Reuters said it could not confirm how far the forces had gotten. The Houthis said the government's claims were baseless.
Earlier Monday, government forces took key positions in Dhubab district, including an airstrip at the mouth of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Reuters reported. The pro-government Giants Brigades said they had cut the main road between Mokha and Bab el-Mandeb, the Hindustan Times reported.
The Houthis gained ground elsewhere. Five government military sources told Reuters the rebels took parts of a mountain road near Taiz, leaving the city surrounded. One government source denied the road had been cut. Taiz is Yemen's third-largest city, with more than half a million people. Just outside the city, people stood in a long line at a gas station for fuel and cooking gas, Reuters said.
The war is spreading beyond Yemen. Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan agreed at an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Monday to quickly send military forces to Saudi Arabia under a defense pact signed in August, Reuters reported. The Houthis also threatened to attack planes in Saudi airspace. The UN migration agency said 184,000 people have been forced from their homes since the fighting resumed.
Some background: the Houthis have held the capital, Sanaa, since 2014. Saudi Arabia began bombing them in 2015, and a truce held from 2022 until it broke down this summer. In September the Houthis swept down the coast and took Mokha and islands in the strait. About 12% of global trade passes through the strait, the AP reported. Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz has already cut Gulf energy exports.
What we know: Government forces hold Dhubab and are at or inside Mokha, and Taiz is cut off by the Houthis.
What we don't: Whether Mokha is fully in government hands, and whether the Riyadh pact sends new troops into the fight.
Where outlets agree Reuters, Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya all report that Yemen's government says its forces retook Mokha from the Houthis on Monday.
Where they differ Government officials say Mokha has fallen, while Reuters sources say troops only reached its outskirts and the Houthis call the claims baseless.