Houthi Rebels Seize Mocha, a Strategic Red Sea Stronghold, Sending Global Oil Prices Soaring and Heightening Tensions

[Financial News] Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have abruptly seized the Red Sea port city of Mocha, a strategic stronghold, from government forces backed by Saudi Arabia, military sources and local witnesses said.
The fall of Mocha has brought the Houthi rebels to within 75 kilometers of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, the southern gateway to the maritime trade route linking Asia and Europe.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that the Houthi rebels said there was no threat to international shipping, while reaffirming threats to attack Saudi Arabian vessels.
Saudi Arabia had come to rely heavily on the Red Sea route for its crude oil exports after the Strait of Hormuz was effectively blockaded by the recent war between the United States and Israel. As clashes intensified among the Houthi rebels, Yemen’s government forces and Saudi Arabia, global oil prices have also surged.
Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed and thousands displaced since the Houthi rebels launched a major offensive in the southwestern region a week ago. A Saudi-led coalition carried out airstrikes on Houthi-held areas to support government forces, while the Houthis launched missile and drone attacks against cities and oil facilities in southern Saudi Arabia.
Residents of Mocha said Houthi fighters entered the city on the 9th after fierce clashes with Yemen’s government forces, forcing many families to flee in haste. One resident said, "We were seized without any warning and suddenly engulfed in fear. We had to flee amid the horrific scene of wounded people left lying in the streets."
Many displaced people are heading toward Aden in eastern Yemen, where Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) are based.
In a statement, the Houthi Supreme Political Council said, "After eliminating the Saudi enemy’s mobilization, the clashes in the western coastal region have ceased." Tarek Saleh, a pro-government defense forces leader, also acknowledged that he had moved the western coast command headquarters to a safe location.
Meanwhile, according to a pro-government military source, the Houthi rebels also seized Zuqar Island in the Red Sea, 80 kilometers northwest of Mocha, using rocket bombardments and a boat-borne landing operation. Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, urged Arab countries and the international community to support the protection of Yemen’s coastline and the restoration of state control.
The unofficial truce that had held for four years began to unravel in July when the Houthi rebels declared a “maritime blockade” against Saudi Arabia and resumed missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea. As retaliatory airstrikes and shelling by both sides continued, Yemen’s civil war is once again moving toward a large-scale full-blown conflict.
[email protected] Yoon Jae-jun Reporter