Photo credit: ABC News
The Iran-backed Houthi rebel group on Thursday took over Yemen’s port city of Mokha, an area vital to controlling shipping through the Red Sea, Houthi and Yemeni officials said.
The Associated Press reports that the takeover gives Iran another potential point of leverage in its war with the US, analysts said, if the Houthis use their presence in Mokha to ramp up threats or attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
The Houthis kept mostly to the sidelines when the Iran war began. Still, over the summer, the rebels increased attacks against Yemen’s internationally recognized government and declared a blockade on Saudi Arabia, which supports it. While the Houthis have their own reasons for fighting the Saudis, the conflict also serves Iran’s interests by ramping up pressure on the American-allied oil producer as Tehran seeks leverage against the US.
Three doctors told the AP they fled a Mokha hospital after it was seized by the Houthis. The doctors spoke on condition of anonymity, citing fears for their safety. They said other residents were fleeing south, toward the city of Aden, which is controlled by the Saudi-backed force.
The Houthis recently made advances in the western province of Talz, where Mokha is located, according to Ahmad al-Mawazi, a trooper with the Yemeni armed forces, and Abdel Kader al-Sharabi, a member of the Saudi-backed forces supporting the Yemeni government.
Both said the rebels had seized control of the al-Shaqira area in Talz, an important supply route for Yemeni government forces in south Hodeida.
