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The Iran-backed militia routed Yemeni government forces in Mokha, putting the group in a stronger position to attack ships in a crucial waterway for global trade.
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Saeed Al-BatatiShuaib Almosawa and Vivian Nereim
Saeed Al-Batati reported from al-Mukalla, Yemen, Shuaib Almosawa reported from Sanaa, Yemen, and Vivian Nereim reported from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The Iran-backed Houthi militia captured a strategic Red Sea port city on Thursday, according to two Yemeni officials, in a sweeping ground offensive that could give the group greater control over an important shipping route and further destabilize energy markets.
The Houthis pushed out forces allied with the Yemeni government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, to seize the city of Mokha as well as its port, according to a local official in the city and a senior provincial official. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Mokha has been the focus of several days of fierce ground battles between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government.
The two sides have been at war since 2014, when the Houthis seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. Soon after, a Saudi-led military coalition began a bombing campaign to try to restore the government to power, plunging the impoverished nation into a devastating war. A fragile truce, reached in 2022, has unraveled in recent months.
A video circulating online and verified by The New York Times shows several pickup trucks with groups of armed men standing in their cargo beds driving through a main road in Mokha. A person behind the camera is heard saying, “Death to America, death to Israel,” part of a Houthi slogan.
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