Aden, September 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Yemen’s Houthi group has seized control of the strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha in southwestern Taiz province following intense fighting with government forces, a development that brings the Iran-aligned group closer to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital route for international shipping.
A military official told Xinhua that Houthi fighters entered Mocha after hours of heavy clashes, forcing government troops to withdraw south towards Dhubab, a coastal area located between Mocha and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The fighting in and around Mocha and other parts of Yemen’s western coast has displaced thousands of families, according to a local official.
The capture of Mocha and its port represents a significant shift in the fighting along Yemen’s western coastline. The city is located around 70 km north of the narrowest point of Bab al-Mandab, the maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
The latest battlefield development comes amid an escalation in air and cross-border attacks.
Yemen’s state-run Saba news agency reported that Saudi warplanes carried out around 40 airstrikes in recent hours across Taiz, Hodeidah, Al-Jawf and Marib provinces. Saudi Arabia had not immediately commented on the report.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said on Wednesday that Saudi aircraft had carried out 55 strikes over a 12-hour period in areas under Houthi control. According to Sarea, the strikes targeted Al-Jawf and Saada in northern Yemen, northeastern Marib and Al-Bayda in central Yemen, and Taiz and Hodeidah in the west.
He warned that the reported attacks “will not go unanswered” but did not provide details of the targets, casualties or damage. There was no immediate Saudi response to his claims.
The reported airstrikes followed a wave of Houthi missile and drone attacks on targets in southern Saudi Arabia a day earlier, including energy facilities and a military air base.
Saudi authorities said those attacks injured 73 people and triggered fires at several facilities.
With the Houthis now reportedly in control of Mocha, the conflict is entering a potentially more consequential phase along one of Yemen’s most strategically important coastal corridors, particularly given the city’s proximity to the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
FOLLOW NOW
