Sanaa, September 13, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Yemen’s Houthi group has claimed that it freed 210 of its members held by government forces after seizing a prison in the strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha, amid a widening offensive along Yemen’s western coastline.
A Houthi military official, speaking anonymously, said the group’s fighters stormed the government-run prison after capturing Mocha in southwestern Taiz province on Thursday.
According to the official, government forces had gathered all 210 detainees in a large hall and locked them inside before retreating from the facility. Houthi fighters subsequently entered the prison and released the detainees, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV confirmed that the 210 prisoners had arrived in Sanaa on Saturday. Yemen’s internationally recognised government had not immediately commented on the reported release.
The development comes after the two sides agreed during UN-sponsored talks in Jordan in May to exchange around 1,750 detainees. The proposed swap, described as the largest such agreement since Yemen’s conflict began, has yet to be implemented.
The prisoner release follows a major Houthi offensive launched on September 3 along the Red Sea coast. The group has claimed control of Mocha and Mayun Island and advanced south towards Lahj province, bringing the fighting closer to Aden, the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
The Houthis also claimed on Sunday that they launched a large-scale ballistic missile and drone attack on a military base in Sharurah, southern Saudi Arabia. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the attack targeted weapons depots and command-and-control facilities, but provided no details on casualties or damage.
Sarea said the attack was retaliation for continued Saudi military action in Yemen and warned of further attacks if the escalation continued.
Yemen’s conflict began in late 2014 after the Houthis seized Sanaa and large parts of northern Yemen. A Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year in support of the internationally recognised government.
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