(AA Photo)
Houthi forces have reached the strategic Mocha port near the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea after taking control of the Hays and Al-Khawkhah districts in southern Al-Hudaydah province, Yemeni media reported on Sept. 10.
The privately owned Al-Masdar Online website reported that Houthi forces had taken control of Hays and Al-Khawkhah, as well as large areas of several districts in western Taiz province.
Hays is one of the key front lines in the battle for Yemen’s western coast, due to its strategic location linking southern districts of Al-Hudaydah with supply routes leading toward Mocha and Bab al-Mandab.
The website said Houthi forces had advanced to Mocha port in the Taiz province after government forces withdrew south toward Lahej province.
Mocha holds major military significance because it is one of Yemen’s closest cities to Bab al-Mandab, a vital international maritime passage linking the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and used by ships traveling to and from the Suez Canal.
According to a Turkish-state run Anadolu Agency correspondent, the Houthis appear to be putting pressure on supply lines and roads linking Taiz and Al-Hudaydah provinces, with the aim of advancing toward coastal fronts and isolating Mocha.
Earlier on Sept. 10, the government-aligned National Resistance Forces announced the formation of a command center south of Mocha following Houthi advances on several fronts in western Yemen.
Hundreds of women and children fled Mocha on Sept. 9 for the Saudi-backed government-controlled provinces of Lahj and Aden, seeking refuge after losing family members in clashes between Houthi rebels and government forces, according to Yemeni government figures.
More than 20,000 people have been displaced by fighting in parts of Taiz and al-Hodeidah provinces over the past two weeks, the figures showed.
The Houthis said that Saudi Arabia had carried out strikes on the Yemeni provinces of Jawaf, Marib and Saada, all bordering the kingdom, as well as Taiz in the south and al-Hodeidah on the Red Sea coast.
Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and several provinces in September 2014, prompting a Saudi-led Arab coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.
