Iran-backed Houthi forces entered the Yemeni Red Sea port city of Mocha on Thursday, September 10, after government-aligned units withdrew following several days of fighting along the western coast, according to Yemeni military sources
Mocha had been held since 2017 by the National Resistance Forces, led by Tareq Saleh, a vice chairman of Yemen’s internationally recognized Presidential Leadership Council. The city sits on Yemen’s Tihama coastal plain, roughly 60 to 75 kilometers north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow passage linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
The coastal offensive began around September 3, with Houthi units applying pressure from western Taiz, southern Hodeidah, and the Mocha area itself. In the days before the city changed hands, available reporting described Houthi advances through districts including Hays, Al-Khawkhah, Al-Waziyah, and Mawza, as well as the Khalid ibn al-Walid military camp.
The ground push followed weeks of missile and drone strikes on Mocha’s port. Commercial operations there had already been suspended in mid-August after repeated attacks damaged facilities.
Residents said Houthi fighters moved in after fighting on Wednesday night. By Thursday morning, local sources told Reuters, Al Jazeera, and other outlets that government-aligned forces had pulled back. Saleh said his units had paid a “heavy price” and ordered an alternative command center established farther south.
Beleaguered government forces were reported relocating toward Dhubab, a coastal area closer to the strait and opposite Perim Island. Separate accounts said Houthi units were also attacking or had seized positions among nearby Red Sea islands, including reports of an assault on Zuqar Island.
Yemen: The Houthis captured the Red Sea port of Mocha early Thursday after government forces pulled out. Control of the coast lets them threaten Bab el-Mandeb shipping and raises the threat to Saudi Arabia. pic.twitter.com/oDxQdseJbY
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) September 10, 2026
The Houthis did not immediately issue a formal announcement that they had captured Mocha. Their Supreme Political Council said clashes had “ceased in the western coast districts after the expulsion of Saudi enemy mobilisations.” Houthi officials said they posed no threat to general international shipping while maintaining an embargo on Saudi-linked vessels.
Yemen’s government called for international support to protect the coastline, while a Saudi-led coalition conducted air strikes on Houthi-held areas in western Yemen as the fighting continued.
The change of control matters beyond Yemen because of Mocha’s location rather than the size of its harbor. Bab al-Mandab is a major corridor for oil, fuel, and container traffic bound for the Suez Canal. Analysts estimate that on the order of 10 percent of global oil supplies normally move through the strait.
Holding Mocha places Houthi forces closer to that waterway, shortens the distance from which they can observe or strike shipping, and removes a government logistics base that had linked the coast with Taiz.
Since a wider U.S.-Iran conflict began in late February 2026, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been sharply reduced, leaving the Red Sea a more important outlet for Saudi crude exports. The Houthis had already declared a blockade on Saudi ports in July and attacked tankers and energy sites.
Oil prices rose on Thursday as traders weighed those risks together with the Mocha reports. Brent crude spiked to the mid-$105 range and higher during the session, while both Brent and U.S. crude traded above $100 a barrel. Energy analysts linked part of the move to concern that disruption near Bab al-Mandab could compound existing constraints on the Hormuz Syrait.
