MOKHA: Yemen’s Houthis have seized the strategic Red Sea port city of Mokha from Saudi-backed pro-government forces, military sources and witnesses say.
The Iran-backed group said they posed no threat to international shipping but reiterated that they would target vessels from Saudi Arabia, which has relied on the Red Sea for oil exports since the US and Israel’s war with Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.
On Friday, pro-government forces also withdrew from Perim island in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, according to officials. Witnesses reported that Houthi forces moved onto the island.
The strait is the southern gateway to a key shipping route that links Asia and Europe via the Red Sea and Suez canal.The escalation of the conflict between the Houthis, Yemen’s government and Saudi Arabia has contributed to a surge in oil prices.
Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed and thousands displaced since the Houthis launched an offensive in the south-west a week ago.
A Saudi-led coalition has also carried out air strikes on Houthi-controlled areas in western Yemen in support of the pro-government forces, and the Houthis have launched missiles and drones at cities and oil facilities in southern Saudi Arabia.
Mokha residents said Houthi fighters moved into the city after fierce clashes with pro-government forces on Wednesday night, prompting many families to flee their homes.
“The takeover came without warning. Panic spread throughout the area, forcing people to flee amid distressing scenes of injured people lying in the streets with no-one there to help them,” one man told BBC Arabic’s Middle East Lifeline programme.
Another man said that Houthi fighters were patrolling the streets of Mokha on Thursday, while government offices and shops were closed.
“At the moment, we don’t know what Ansar Allah will do,” he added, using the group’s formal name. “Everyone is afraid for their safety.”
Many displaced families are heading east towards the city of Aden, where Yemen’s internationally recognised Presidential Leadership Council and government are based.
“We fled with our children and kept running. We have no bedding, no home, nothing with us. Everything was destroyed within an hour. They didn’t even give us a chance or warn us beforehand,” one woman told BBC Arabic.
“We are women with no means of defending ourselves, and we have innocent children with us.”
Source : BBC
