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Houthis Seize Yemeni Port Of Mocha, Gaining Greater Leverage Over Bab Al Mandab Strait

Tyler Durden's Photo
by Tyler Durden
Authored...

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militants (Ansar Allah) have scored a major victory against Saudi-backed government forces, after the war was fiercely reinvigorated this month, having seized a historic Red Sea port on Thursday which effectively givens the Houthis even greater leverage over the Bab Al Mandab Strait.

The port of Mocha - also spelled Mokha or Al Makha - once stood at the center of the global coffee trade and is a common household name internationally, but now is also the place from where Iranian proxies could further squeeze global energy markets.

According to the latest on the fluid battle lines via Reuters, "The group [Ansar Allah] has launched attacks on the strategic Red Sea islands of Hanish, pushing government forces and their allies south to Dhubab, which sits directly on the strait across from the island of Perim, the Yemeni sources told Reuters on Thursday." And more: "Control of Dhubab and the island is key to gaining hold of the strait, they said."

Earlier in Washington's Operation Epic Fury, the Houthis essentially joined what emerged as a regional conflict in support of Tehran, also announcing a 'siege for siege' on all Saudi exports and shipping. The group had already long opened a war on Israeli and any Tel Aviv-linked ships.

The renewed fight with Saudi Arabia, which has seen Saudi jets bomb 'rebel' locations across Yemen (a return to the much bigger but failed campaign of the last decade which raged since 2015), was the result of recent Houthi ballistic missile and drone attacks on Saudi Aramco facilities, which has caused major operational stoppages.

The Houthis have also at times taken aim at Saudi airports, and multiple cities in the kingdom. Earlier this summer the Saudi air force tried to prevent an Iranian passenger plane from flying to and from Houthi controlled Yemen, an event which also served as a catalyst to the current fighting.

It seems the Houthis are seeking to control the whole western coastline, which would greatly expand their reach in terms of targeting international shipping. Al Jazeera provides the following analysis of the significance of the group's recent gains:

The Ansar Allah Houthis having control of the port of Mocha means they also control the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. This gives the Houthis the eyes, the ears and the pressure to monitor international trade. Bab al-Mandeb is responsible for 10-12 percent of global trade.

Secondly, this also gives them the ability to block any Saudi military reinforcements to the internationally recognized Yemeni government that come through the southern port of Hodeidah.

Thirdly, this also means they will be able to cut off the three main supply lines to government forces stationed in the south of the country and in the central provinces of al-Bayda and al-Dhale.

Fresh unconfirmed reports Thursday say that the Houthis have now actually reached the Red Sea islands of Hanish. If true this would be a further strategic advantage for taking more coastline.

The forces of the internationally recognized Aden-based government have at this point reportedly abandoned their military positions west of Taiz and south of Mocha.

Saudi allies, especially Pakistan, have been warning of some kind of intervention on Riyadh's behalf, based on the Mecca Defense Pact. The pact between Riyadh, Islamabad, and Ankara has been likened to NATO Article 5, where an attack on one is an 'attack on all'. These countries' own officials have in many cases advanced this interpretation. However, so far there's been no such action in response to the Houthis, deemed by many to be a 'non-state actor'.

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Interesting on the ground coverage from just hours before Mocha's capture. Can the Houthis now hold it?

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