Houthis seize Mokha as Yemen’s presidential council calls for international action

The Houthi Ansar Allah group has made a battlefield advance towards the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait after taking control of the coastal city of Mokha and Zuqar Island in the southern Red Sea on Thursday. Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi warned that protecting Yemen’s coastline is a “shared Arab and international interest”, amid a major military escalation and Saudi air strikes on several areas of the country.

A government military official told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that “the Houthis are advancing towards Bab al-Mandab after taking control of Mokha”, while eyewitnesses said Houthi fighters entered the city celebrating and chanting slogans including “Death to America, death to Israel”.

The official added that the Houthis had also taken control of “the Yemeni island of Zuqar in the southern Red Sea” following an attack with ballistic missiles, followed by a ground assault involving boats carrying fighters.

The Houthi advance comes after a week of fierce fighting with Saudi-backed government forces, the heaviest since the two sides agreed a truce in 2022. The fighting has killed at least 500 people, mostly combatants, according to a toll based on sources from both sides.

READ: Houthi official warns Turkey and Pakistan against intervention on Saudi Arabia’s side