Mokha: The Yemeni army has announced that its forces began air strikes on areas of Yemen's western coast, including areas surrounding the city of Mokha. The announcement came a day after the army declared an area around the Taiz-Mokha road a military zone.
According to TRTworld.com, in a statement on X, army spokesperson Majid al-Nuzaili asked civilians to avoid using the Taiz-Mokha road as well as the Mokha-Dhubab road. Al-Nuzaili emphasized that civilians must not use the prohibited roads until further notice. State-run Aljoumhouriya TV later reported a series of air strikes targeting Houthi positions in Mokha, Khalid camp, and Jabal al-Nar.
Sources cited by the broadcaster indicated that one of the strikes targeted a large gathering of Houthis inside the compound of a water and sanitation project in Mokha. Local sources also informed the broadcaster that air strikes hit the Souq al-Kharj area in Al-Hali, Mokha. Aljoumhouriya TV separately reported heavy strikes targeting Houthi military equipment in the coastal district of Dhubab al-Mandab.
Yemen's battlefield map has shifted as fighting between government forces and the Houthis intensified after clashes resumed in early July following years of relative calm. The Houthis claim they now control all of Hudaida province and have advanced in western Taiz, taking Mokha city and its Red Sea port and reaching areas near the Bab al Mandeb Strait, a vital maritime route.
Government forces, on the other hand, have made gains in the northern province of Al-Jawf near the Saudi border, moving closer to Al-Hazm, the provincial capital, while fighting continues on fronts in Marib, Al-Bayda, and Al-Dhalea. Yemen had experienced a relative lull since April 2022 after nearly 12 years of war between government forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and the Iranian-backed Houthis, who seized control of the capital, Sanaa, and large parts of the country in 2014.
Since late 2023, the Houthis have become increasingly involved in regional hostilities, launching attacks on Israel and commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Renewed fighting has raised fears of a return to full-scale conflict in Yemen.
