MOKHA, YEMEN — Yemen’s grinding civil war has taken a dramatic turn, with Houthi movement reportedly capturing the strategic Red Sea port city of Mokha from Saudi-backed pro-government forces.
The reported breakthrough places Houthis closer to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints. Located around 75km south of Mokha, the strait links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and serves as a vital corridor for international trade and energy shipments.
The development threatens to transform Yemen’s southwestern coast into a new centre of regional confrontation.
Military sources say the Houthi offensive, launched roughly a week ago across the southwestern coastal region, has already left hundreds dead and displaced thousands. The fighting comes as the movement’s confrontation with neighbouring Saudi Arabia reaches a dangerous new level.
The latest escalation has spilled directly across Yemen’s border. Earlier this week, Houthi forces launched dozens of drones and missiles toward southern Saudi Arabia, according to reports. Saudi authorities said the attacks injured 73 civilians and triggered fires at several oil facilities, temporarily forcing operations at the affected sites to halt.
Houthis said the attacks were retaliation for Saudi airstrikes against areas of northwestern Yemen under their control. Among Saudi strikes was an attack on a prison in Hazm, Jawf province. Local officials said at least 23 civilians were killed in the bombing.
Red Sea has become increasingly important to Saudi Arabia as the wider confrontation involving the United States, Israel and Iran has contributed to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, another crucial energy route in the Gulf. That has increased the strategic value of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coastline and made the security of the Bab al-Mandab Strait even more consequential.
For the Houthis, gaining ground along Yemen’s western coast could provide greater leverage over a maritime corridor through which major volumes of global trade and energy pass. The possibility of a powerful armed movement operating close to the strait has therefore raised fears that Yemen’s civil war could increasingly threaten international shipping and regional energy supplies.
The latest fighting follows the breakdown of an informal ceasefire that had kept violence relatively contained for around four years.
In July, the Houthis announced what they called a “maritime embargo” against Saudi Arabia. The movement then intensified missile and drone attacks against Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers operating in the Red Sea.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has continued to view the Houthis as a major security threat on its southern border. The result is a conflict increasingly defined not only by battles for Yemeni territory but also by attacks on critical infrastructure and maritime routes.
Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, emerged in northern Yemen during the 1990s from the country’s Zaydi Shia community. Founded by Hussein Badr al-Din al-Houthi, the movement initially focused on opposition to government corruption, political injustice and the expanding influence of Saudi ideology.
Over the years, its relationship with Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah also deepened, although Tehran has consistently denied controlling the Houthis or directing their military activities as a conventional proxy.
The first major direct military clash between the two sides came in 2009, during Yemen’s sixth war. Houthi fighters crossed into Saudi territory, prompting Saudi forces to respond with airstrikes. For Riyadh, the episode reinforced fears that the movement could threaten Saudi Arabia’s southern frontier.
In 2014, the Houthis formed an alliance with Saleh and seized the capital, Sanaa. By early 2015, the movement controlled large areas of northern Yemen. President Hadi eventually fled to Saudi Arabia as the Houthis expanded their territorial reach.
Saudi Arabia responded with a major military intervention. In March 2015, Riyadh launched Operation Decisive Storm, leading a coalition of Arab states in support of Hadi’s government.
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