Pro-government Yemeni forces announced the capture of the port of Moha and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait area

Offensive against the Houthis in Yemen: pro-government forces announced the capture of the port of Mokha and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait area

Author, News Department

Place of work, BBC Russian Service

Published 2 minutes ago

Reading time: 3 min

Yemen's pro-government forces, backed by Saudi Arabia, have declared success in their all-out offensive against the Houthis, the Iranian-backed rebel movement that conquered large swathes of the country and the capital Sanaa more than a decade ago.

According to the Yemeni military, with the assistance of Saudi military aircraft, they managed to regain control of the port of Mokha and take control of the area of ​​​​the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean.

Later, the Yemeni army also announced the capture of the airport in the city of Dhubab and the beginning of the siege of this village, where the Houthi forces remained.

Representatives of the Houthis have not yet commented on these statements, but media controlled by this Shiite group denied that government troops had advanced towards Dhubab.

Military action also began on other fronts on Monday, including in the direction of Sanaa, according to the government.

The Saudi-led anti-Houthi coalition said its fighters were providing 24-hour air support to ground troops and had destroyed 324 “high-value targets” since the offensive began.

According to the Houthi Al Masirah TV channel, a schoolgirl and a woman were killed in airstrikes on Monday in two areas of Sanaa. Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam said Saudi Arabia was committing "many massacres" and promised it would "experience the full consequences."

The Houthi-run humanitarian watchdog has warned civilian airlines that airspace over Saudi Arabia is no longer safe and has become a "theater of war" - with the exception of the skies over the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

Houthi successes

The offensive against the Houthis began against the backdrop of new military successes for this group.

Earlier there were reports that the Houthis were continuing to gain new ground and the front line remained near the key city of Taiz, which is still under the control of the internationally recognized government.

On Sunday, the Houthis cut off a critical supply route linking Taiz with Aden, the temporary capital of the recognized government, AFP reported. Citing three Yemeni military sources, the agency also said the Houthis now control the area and supply route, effectively encircling Taiz.

On Sunday, Yemen's Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sari also said the group had attacked Aramco facilities in Riyadh and the oil-rich Khurais region in the kingdom's east with missiles and drones.

Satellite images taken on Saturday showed plumes of black smoke visible above Aramco's Riyadh refinery, according to BBC Verify. Smoke also appeared over the Khurais oil field in Saudi Arabia, according to photographs.

What happened before this

Yemen is one of the world's poorest countries and continues to face a massive humanitarian crisis.

War broke out in 2014 when the Houthis captured the capital and then seized control of vast areas in the north of the country.

Saudi Arabia has always supported the legitimate government, and in 2015, Riyadh intervened directly in the conflict, gathering a coalition of several states. Yemen was heavily bombed, but Houthi rule in the captured areas remained strong.

After years of relative calm, the war resumed in July as conflict expanded in the Middle East.