Yemeni Government Says Its Forces Retook Mocha and Bab el-Mandeb Coast as Houthis Claim Strikes in Saudi Arabia

Yemen’s Saudi-backed government said its forces retook the coast around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait up to the city of Mocha on Monday, pushing the Iran-backed Houthis out of most of the areas they seized last month, according to Reuters.

Four government sources said the forces, backed by heavy Saudi airstrikes, reached the outskirts of Mocha late Monday as Houthi fighters retreated into the highlands, and the Defense Ministry said the city had fallen, Reuters reported. The government had already retaken key positions, including an airstrip in the Dhubab district at the mouth of the strait.

The claim came a day after President Rashad al-Alimi announced an all-out offensive to retake Houthi-held territory. Reuters said it could not independently verify the extent of the gains, and the Houthis, who have held Sanaa and much of the northwest since 2014, called the government’s claims baseless. CNN likewise reported that it had not independently verified the claim, and the Houthi-run Saba News Agency quoted a military source calling the reported advances fictitious.

Claims of strikes in Saudi Arabia and a wider defense pact

The Houthis said they had attacked sites in Saudi Arabia, including King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, an Aramco refinery in Rabigh, Abha International Airport and the Khamis Mushait military base, according to Reuters. Those claims could not be immediately verified, and Saudi Arabia and Aramco did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters reported. The National reported that three people were injured in attacks on two Saudi airports, citing the aviation authority.

The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia warned American citizens Monday of potential drone and missile attacks, according to CNN, while the Houthi-run Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center warned airlines that Saudi airspace was unsafe as long as the fighting continues, Saba reported, according to CNN.

The Saudi-led coalition said late Monday that its naval forces had carried out an operation in Yemen’s Red Sea governorate of Hodeidah, according to Reuters. In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan agreed at an emergency meeting Monday to rapidly deploy military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia under their Mecca defense pact, according to a joint statement cited by Reuters.

A vital oil route, and fighting around Taiz

The Bab el-Mandeb is a vital Red Sea route for oil and global trade, and it has grown more important as an alternative since the Iran war severely disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, according to CNN. If confirmed, the advance could loosen the Houthis’ grip on the strait, though the group could still threaten vessels with drones from other positions, Reuters reported.

The heaviest fighting was in the southwest, around both the strait and the hills near Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city. Government military sources said Houthi advances near Taiz had gained sections of a mountain road and left government forces besieged, though one government source denied the road had been cut, according to Reuters. The U.N. migration agency said Monday that 184,000 people had been displaced since the fighting resumed, Reuters reported, and the Houthi-run health ministry said two people were killed and seven wounded in strikes in Sanaa province.

Reporting based on coverage by Reuters and CNN.