Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces staged a lightning advance along the western coast on Oct. 5, claiming to have retaken the strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha from the Houthis and reclaimed most of the coastline around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. If confirmed, it would be the government's most significant advance since Yemen's dormant civil war re-erupted.
Mocha fell to the Houthis about a month ago — on Sept. 10, the group seized the port as part of an offensive along the southwestern coast, also capturing an airstrip in the Dhubab district at the mouth of the strait, a move that sent shockwaves through energy markets. On Oct. 4, Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, declared the start of a counteroffensive in a televised address. Codenamed "Dawn of Yemen," the campaign's stated goal is to expel the Houthis — who have controlled the capital Sanaa for more than a decade — from the entire country.
Maj. Gen. Majid al-Nujaili, spokesman for the government forces, said the Giants Brigades and the National Shield Forces led the coastal offensive, cutting the Dhubab-Mocha road and gaining fire control over it. "We carried out 1,122 precision strikes targeting Houthi artillery batteries, rocket launchers, defensive positions, advance routes and command centers," he said. Saudi coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said 100 fighter jets were taking part in the Dawn of Yemen operation, striking 324 key targets and continuing to provide air support for ground troops; coalition naval forces also carried out an operation in the Red Sea governorate of Hodeidah.
Reuters, citing military and government sources, reported that government forces reached the outskirts of Mocha late Monday with Houthi fighters retreating into the highlands, and the Defense Ministry said the city had fallen — though Reuters said it could not independently verify the extent of the gains. The Houthis dismissed the government's claims as baseless. In response, the group said it had attacked targets inside Saudi Arabia, including King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, an Aramco refinery in Rabigh, Abha airport and the Khamis Mushait military base, and threatened to target air traffic in Saudi airspace.
Bab el-Mandeb links the Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean and is a vital Red Sea oil route; Houthi control of it, layered on top of Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has kept energy markets on edge. Retaking the strait's surroundings would make it harder for the Houthis to disrupt shipping, though they could still strike vessels with drones from positions further up the coast and inland. Meanwhile, the Houthis advanced near the city of Taiz, seizing sections of a mountain road and leaving government forces there besieged — a reminder that Yemen's multi-front war is far from over.