Houthi militia takes strategically important port city of Mocha

According to Yemeni military circles and eyewitness reports, the Houthi militia has captured the strategically important port city of Mocha on Yemen's west coast.

The Iranian-backed militia thus controls an important access to the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. The Houthis initially did not comment.

The forces allied with the government had moved their weapons and equipment from Mocha to an area south of the city, military sources told the German Press Agency. This is part of a reorganization of troop deployment in the area near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Houthi-affiliated media and social network users distributed videos purporting to show militia patrols inside Mocha. The recordings could not initially be independently verified.

Strategically important city of Mocha

Mocha lies immediately north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Along with the Strait of Hormuz, it is one of the world's most important shipping routes, including for crude oil and liquid gas. Controlling the city would enable the Houthis to attack or hinder shipping traffic in the Red Sea even more specifically than they already did. The Houthis have attacked ships in the Red Sea several times in the past and have also imposed a blockade on Saudi ships in the recent escalation.

Since the outbreak of the Iran War, the Strait has been used as an alternative trade route to compensate for failures through the Strait of Hormuz. In Yemen, the Iran-backed Houthis are fighting the Saudi-backed government. There has been an unofficial ceasefire since 2022. In the wake of the Iran war, the conflict in Yemen has flared up again.