File image.
A major ground offensive by Iran-backed Houthi rebels aiming to seize the Red Sea port of Mocha has left more than 120 people dead in southwestern Yemen, officials and media reports said on September 4.
The fierce clashes, described as the deadliest in years, erupted a day earlier across the coastal provinces of Taiz and Hodeidah.
The Houthis announced a “maritime blockade” against Saudi Arabia last month, and since then, the group has carried out a series of attacks targeting Saudi airports, oil facilities, Yemeni government forces, infrastructure in the country, and tankers in the Red Sea.
The group’s ongoing assault has pushed Yemen’s ceasefire closer to collapse than at any point since it took effect more than four years ago.
In response to the Houthis’ advance, the government’s Yemeni Army Media Center said 15 strikes hit positions, gatherings, and vehicles of the group along the western coast fronts.
Most of the strikes hit the Hays front west of Taiz, marking the first time warplanes were used since fighting escalated. The government claimed its own air force carried out the strikes, but they were likely launched by Saudi Arabia.
On the ground, Yemeni government forces announced by late September 4 they had recaptured the strategically vital al-Khazan and al-Makahna hills in the Jabal Habashi district west of Taiz city.
Casualties from the two days of fighting have been exceptionally high. An AFP tally reported at least 129 deaths since the offensive began. An anonymous Yemeni military official confirmed that 66 government troops had been killed, while medical and military sources close to the Houthis reported 62 rebel deaths.
Civilian casualties have also been reported. According to Al Jazeera, a Houthi ballistic missile struck a restaurant in the coastal city of Mocha, killing and injuring several civilians.
The Houthis’ primary objective appears to be cutting off supply routes to Mocha, a government-held port city less than 80 kilometers from the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Col. Abdul Basit al-Baher, a Yemeni army officer, told The New York Times that fighting had intensified around western Taiz as rebel forces pushed toward the port.
Control over the elevated terrain overlooking the strait and the coast would grant the Houthis sweeping authority over one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints, which serves as a primary transit route for global oil exports.
Tensions surrounding Mocha have been building for weeks. In early August, the Houthis fired more than 25 missiles at the port city, forcing it to briefly suspend operations. The rebels claimed the August strikes were pre-emptive actions against a military buildup by Saudi-backed forces.
The government, based in the southern port city of Aden, has dispatched large military reinforcements to Taiz to counter the Houthi advances and secure the coastline, while fighting on multiple fronts continues to threaten crucial supply arteries.
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with saudi oil revenues evaporating. these conflicts may become common. yes, iran supports indigenous semitic arabic populations including the houthi.
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