Houthis Capture Mokha, Advancing to Within 80 km of Bab al-Mandab
Key Takeaways
- •Houthi forces captured the strategic port city of Mokha in Yemen.
- •The advance places the group approximately 80 km from the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
- •Pro-government forces withdrew south toward Dhubab after Mokha fell.
- •Bab al-Mandab normally carries about 12% of the world’s oil and other goods.
- •Houthi officials said international shipping remains safe, while maintaining a ban on Saudi vessels.
Yemen’s Houthis have captured the strategic Red Sea port city of Mokha, bringing the Iran-backed group to within approximately 80 km of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, according to Houthi and Yemeni officials.
Pro-government forces withdrew south towards Dhubab after the capture. Control of Mokha gives the Houthis greater influence over Yemen’s western coastline and could improve their ability to monitor and threaten shipping approaching the southern entrance to the Red Sea.
Bab al-Mandab has taken on added strategic importance since disruption in the Strait of Hormuz increased reliance on Red Sea export routes. Approximately 12% of the world’s oil and other goods normally pass through the strait.
The Houthis nevertheless maintain that international shipping is not their target. In an email sent to Splash247 yesterday, Waleed Abdallah of the Houthi-run Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center said that “maritime navigation in the international waters of the Red Sea is safe.” He added that the only existing restriction was the “previously imposed ban on Saudi vessels”.
Senior Houthi officials repeated that position publicly, saying international navigation “will remain safe” despite the group’s advance towards Bab al-Mandab.
Source: Splash247
