Fighting has intensified between Yemeni government forces and Houthi fighters along Yemen’s western coast, with both sides reporting military operations centered on the strategic port city of Mocha. On Saturday, government forces, supported by Saudi Arabia, launched air attacks aimed at retaking territory captured by Houthi forces days earlier, according to Yemen’s state-run Saba news agency.
The recent escalation follows the capture of Mocha on Thursday and the nearby island of Mayyun on Friday by Houthi forces, giving the group control over the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a critical global shipping lane.
In response, Saba reported that government armed forces conducted strikes that “destroyed vehicles and weapons” belonging to Houthi units near Mocha. Sultan al-Arada, a member of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), told state television that government troops who had withdrawn from the coast were regrouping in Marib and would “return to the battle again.” He added that the government’s objective remains “the restoration of the capital, Sanaa.”
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree stated that Saudi-led coalition warplanes had conducted 129 air raids over 48 hours in the governorates of Taiz, Marib, Hodeidah, and others. Saree also claimed Houthi forces carried out a missile and drone attack on a Saudi military base in Sharurah, located in Saudi Arabia’s southern Najran province, targeting “weapons depots and command and control centres.”
The conflict has also involved cross-border attacks into Saudi Arabia. On Sunday, Saudi Civil Defence reported that a projectile fired from Yemen struck the southern Jazan region, wounding two people and causing damage to a mosque and several buildings. Houthi forces also claimed responsibility for missile and drone attacks on Tuesday that targeted what they described as civilian and economic facilities in the Saudi cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, and Najran, which reportedly wounded 73 people.
The United Nations reported on Friday that the renewed hostilities have displaced nearly 46,000 people since the fighting escalated. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) noted that the figure is likely higher and that the capture of Mocha by Houthi forces has made it more difficult for aid agencies to reach civilians. According to the IOM, more than 2,000 Yemenis have arrived in Djibouti in the past 24 hours.
Iranian officials commented on the recent developments. Hossein Mohebbi, a spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), posted on the social media platform X that the Houthi advances were a “divine triumph.” Iran’s Foreign Ministry stated that the Houthis act independently and called for an end to the blockade on Houthi-controlled areas and a return to negotiations.
The clashes mark a significant escalation in the conflict after a period of relative calm following a U.N.-brokered truce in 2022.
