Saudi-Backed Forces Retake Yemen Port of Mokha in Major Offensive in Most Dangerous Countries

Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have retaken the key Red Sea port city of Mokha from Iran-backed Houthis and secured the Bab al-Mandab Strait as part of a major new offensive dubbed Operation Yemen Dawn in one of the most dangerous countries.

Yemeni Government Launches Major Offensive

The internationally recognised Yemeni government announced on Sunday the launch of an offensive to recapture territory held by Houthi rebels. [4] President Rashad al-Alimi swore to fight until the country is liberated from the grip of the terrorist militia. [4] The head of Yemen's internationally recognised Presidential Leadership Council announced the beginning of an offensive dubbed Operation Yemen Dawn aimed at retaking all territory held by the Houthis. [5] Rashad al-Alimi insisted that all opportunities for de-escalation had been exhausted and called on all forces to carry out their assigned missions until the country is liberated from the grip of the Houthi terrorist militia. [5]

Capture of Mokha and Bab al-Mandab Strait

Saudi-backed Yemeni forces said Monday they had retaken Mokha and advanced around the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait one day after launching a major offensive to recover territory seized by the Iran-backed Houthis last month. [1] Yemeni forces recapture Red Sea port city of Mokha from Houthis after Houthis had controlled Mokha since early September according to Yemen’s state news agency SABA. [3] Yemeni pro-government forces backed by Saudi Arabia say they have retaken control of the Red Sea port city of Mokha and secured the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the start of a major offensive against the Iran-backed Houthi movement. [5] The Yemeni military said National Shield Giants Brigades and Tihama Resistance forces had captured Mokha on Monday afternoon with the help of Saudi air strikes. [5] Hours earlier the military said its forces had seized Dhubab airport 45km to the south and were besieging Houthi fighters inside the nearby town. [5]

Saudi-backed Yemeni forces retake the Red Sea port city of Mokha from Houthis. — Source: anadolu

Houthi Retaliation and Saudi Strikes in Most Dangerous Countries

A Saudi-led military coalition said its fighter jets were providing round-the-clock air support to the pro-government forces and had destroyed 324 high-value targets since the start of the offensive. [5] Saudi air strikes killed a schoolgirl and a woman in the Sanhan and Saawan districts of Sanaa on Monday according to Houthi-run Al Masirah TV. [5] Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam said Saudi Arabia was committing dozens of massacres and that it must bear all the consequences. [5] The Houthis said they had launched ballistic missiles and drones at oil facilities belonging to Saudi Aramco in Riyadh and the Khurais area of Saudi Arabia in retaliation for dozens of Saudi strikes on their territory. [5] According to BBC Verify satellite imagery from Saturday shows thick dark smoke coming from the site of a strike at the Aramco Riyadh Refinery in the city's south-east with a similar plume of smoke rising from the Khurais Central Processing Facility as well as from a potential strike point in satellite imagery from Sunday. [5]

Context of the Yemen Civil War

Yemen has been devastated by a civil war that began in 2014 when the Houthis ousted the government from Sanaa. [5] The conflict escalated in 2015 after a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states intervened in an attempt to restore the government's rule. [5] The government said operations had also begun on other fronts on Monday including the capital Sanaa which fell to the Houthis at the start of the civil war 12 years ago. [5] A four-year-old informal ceasefire began to unravel in July when the Houthis announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia and began missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea. [5] Last month the Houthis launched a surprise offensive along Yemen's south-western Red Sea coast and quickly ousted pro-government forces from areas overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait including Mokha Dhubab and Perim Island. [5]

Human Cost and Displacement

At least 959 people have been killed and 5,000 injured in the fighting in Yemen since 6 August according to the government's health ministry. [5] The UN says another 197,000 people have been displaced. [5]

Ongoing Operations and Reactions

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis but Houthi-run media denied that government forces had made advances in Dhubab. [5] The Houthi-run Humanitarian Operations Co-ordination Centre warned civilian airlines that Saudi airspace except for the skies above the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina was no longer safe because it had become a theatre of operations. [5] It came after the Houthis reportedly cut a mountain road near the south-western city of Taiz effectively leaving government forces and residents there surrounded. [5] The Houthis also said they posed no threat to international shipping passing through the waterway but that they would continue to target vessels from Saudi Arabia. [5]

What to watch next: Operations continue on fronts including Sanaa with Saudi-led coalition jets providing round-the-clock air support after the seizure of the strait contributed to a surge in global oil prices.