Houthis capture Yemen's al Mokha port city, advance towards strategic Bab el-Mandeb
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Houthis capture Yemen's al Mokha port city, advance towards strategic Bab el-Mandeb")
Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities, march during a rally to recruit more fighters, in Sanaa on September 10, 2026. Photograph: (AFP)
The Houthis have captured Yemen's al Mokha after nine days of fighting, raising concerns over control of the Red Sea coastline and Bab el-Mandeb.
The Houthis have captured the important port city of al Mokha on Yemen's western coast after almost nine days of continuous fighting. The Yemeni government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, has fallen back to the south of the city. They have also launched large-scale attacks targeting Saudi Arabia.
“Resistance groups have left Mokha and are now deployed to Dhubab (46km) south of the city,” said a Yemeni Official to The National. According to eyewitnesses quoted by the AFP, who saw Houthi forces entering the city on Thursday were shouting, “death to Israel, death to America.”
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What does this mean for Bab el Mandeb?
The Iran-backed Houthis already control the political capital Sana and the main commercial port Hodeidah. The capture of al Mokha marks a significant development as it links their northern strongholds. It was once a strong base of the Yemeni government forces, but now it allows the Houthis to assert control over the Red Sea coastline.
According to the Yemeni military, the Houthi forces are advancing towards the Bab el-Mandeb strait. They have now launched a major offensive to seize Perim Island located inside the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, with unconfirmed reports from several international media outlets indicating that Houthi fighters have begun landing on the island.
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Bab al-Mandeb is responsible for 10-12 per cent of global trade. At a time when the Strait of Hormuz is closed, this will allow Houthis to further disrupt global trade. This will also allow them to target Saudi reinforcements coming at the southern port of Hodeidah and cut three main supply lines to the internationally recognised government forces. This also means that the Red Sea port of Yanbu, a key port to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, which had recently seen a rebound according to data tracking firm Kpler, will be within the range of Houthi missiles and drones.
According to military sources, Houthis also seized Zuqar Island, in the southern Red Sea, "after rocket attacks and a ground assault carried out using boats transporting fighters". According to Hussain al-Bukhaiti, a pro-Houthi commentator in Sana, it is not just about Bab el Mandeb; they want to liberate the entire coastline from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and every corner of Yemen.
Houthi attacks on the kingdom continued even as Saudi Arabia conveyed a warning message to Tehran through Pakistan to control the Houthis.
