Houthi attacks kill seven, suspend Yemen's Mocha port operations

Abdulmalik al-Sharabi said Saturday that Houthi missile and drone attacks have suspended operations at Yemen's Mocha port, killing seven people and causing $16 million in damage in the first such strikes on the facility since a 2022 truce.

Infrastructure damage

Speaking at a news conference in the Red Sea port city, al-Sharabi stated that more than 25 missiles have struck the facility since August 9, damaging six wooden vessels and a dredger used in the port's expansion project. The port director said the attacks killed four security personnel and three employees, depriving 1,300 workers of their livelihoods and disrupting a $130 million rehabilitation project.

Military operations

The government-aligned National Resistance Forces reported Friday that the Houthis had launched 40 ballistic missiles, 46 drones and explosive-laden boats targeting Mocha and civilian sites in recent days. The Houthis, however, said they targeted only military gatherings, weapons depots and military boats in the area, claims that could not be independently verified.

Regional context

Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi warned that targeting the port threatened shipping traffic and food and fuel supplies with serious humanitarian consequences. A truce has largely held in Yemen since April 2022 after years of war between government forces and the Houthis, who have controlled the capital, Sanaa, since September 2014, while Saudi Arabia leads a coalition supporting the internationally recognized government and the Houthis receive backing from Iran — an allegation Tehran denies as Yemen faces one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.