Yemen interim government says it retook Red Sea port city; Houthis say fighting ongoing
In short
Forces of Yemen’s Saudi-backed interim government attacked the Red Sea coast near the Bab el-Mandeb strait on 5 October and reported retaking part of the area, including, its own media said, the port city of Mocha. The Iran-aligned Houthis said fighting around the strait was continuing and warned that Saudi oil facilities would be targeted. Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan said they would move immediately to a collective defence posture under a joint defence pact signed in early August.
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Forces of Yemen’s Saudi-backed interim government attacked the Red Sea coast near the Bab el-Mandeb strait on 5 October and retook part of the area, a day after the interim government announced the start of a large-scale military operation against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement. Saudi Arabia, the interim government’s backer, said it would provide “full operational support” for the operation, Mainichi Shimbun reported. Mainichi, citing Reuters, said the interim government’s Ali al-Alimi, chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, said in a televised speech that it would start military operations across the country, retake territory and “liberate the country” from the Houthis. [ 1 ]
Media on the interim government’s side said its forces took the port city of Mocha near the strait on 5 October and had liberated bases around the waterway, Sankei Shimbun reported. Houthi official al-Bukhayti told Kyodo News the same day that the fighting around the strait was “continuing” and warned that Saudi oil-related facilities would be “intensively targeted”. According to Mainichi, the interim government aims to retake Red Sea coastal areas and islands near Bab el-Mandeb that the Houthis seized in September, as well as Sanaa, with Saudi air strikes backing ground operations. [ 1 , 2 ]
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan said on 5 October that they would immediately shift to a collective defence posture under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement signed in early August, taking the steps needed to deploy military forces rapidly to Saudi Arabia and issuing a strong warning to the Houthis. The Houthis said they carried out missile and drone operations targeting Saudi Aramco facilities and Riyadh airport. The documents do not report casualties or damage from those claimed operations; Sankei said major damage could affect the global energy situation. [ 2 ]
Yemen’s conflict intensified in 2014 between the interim government and the Houthis, and a Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened militarily in 2015, turning it into a full-scale civil war, Mainichi reported. Clashes had been sporadic since a temporary truce in 2022, but a Houthi advance on the Red Sea coast in September sharply raised the prospect of a full-scale conflict resuming. The Houthis have also targeted oil-related facilities, including the pipeline linking Saudi Arabia’s east and west, as well as tankers. [ 1 ]
Whether the war broadens may also depend on whether Saudi Arabia and the interim government can rebuild a joint front with southern separatists, with whom they fell out late last year, and their backer the United Arab Emirates, Mainichi reported. The fight for the southern stronghold of Taiz was described as the immediate focus. In Japan and other countries, Mainichi said, concern is growing that higher shipping costs from Saudi Arabia and crude oil prices will be pushed up further. [ 1 ]
Why it matters
The Bab el-Mandeb strait is a chokepoint for international shipping, and the documents say Houthi targeting of Saudi oil facilities and tankers could push up transport costs and crude prices, including for Japan. The move by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan into a collective defence posture, and Houthi claims of missile and drone operations against Saudi Aramco facilities and Riyadh airport, point to a risk that the conflict widens beyond Yemen.
Key facts
- Yemen’s interim government announced on 4 October that it had begun a large-scale military operation against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement. [ 1 ]
- Its forces began attacks on the Red Sea coast near the Bab el-Mandeb strait on 5 October and retook part of the area, according to Mainichi Shimbun. [ 1 ]
- Media on the interim government’s side said its forces recaptured the port city of Mocha near the strait. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Houthi official al-Bukhayti told Kyodo News that fighting around the strait was continuing and warned that Saudi oil-related facilities would be ‘intensively targeted’. [ 2 ]
- Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan said they would immediately move to a collective defence posture under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement signed in early August. [ 2 ]
- The Houthis said they carried out missile and drone operations targeting Saudi Aramco facilities and Riyadh airport. [ 2 ]
- The Houthis have also targeted oil-related facilities including the pipeline linking Saudi Arabia’s east and west, as well as tankers, raising concern in Japan and elsewhere over shipping costs and crude prices. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The Saudi-backed interim government side reported progress on the Red Sea coast near the Bab el-Mandeb strait, including the recapture of the port city of Mocha by its forces. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Houthi official al-Bukhayti said fighting around the strait was continuing, disputing the interim government’s account. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Still unclear
- Control of Mocha and other positions near the Bab el-Mandeb strait. The interim government side says the port city was retaken, while Houthi official al-Bukhayti says fighting is continuing; the documents offer no independent confirmation.
- Casualties and damage from the reported Houthi missile and drone operations against Saudi Aramco facilities and Riyadh airport. Sankei Shimbun reports only that the Houthis claimed the operations and says major damage could affect global energy markets, without giving results.
- Whether Saudi Arabia and the interim government can rebuild a joint front with southern separatists and their backer, the United Arab Emirates. Mainichi Shimbun says this could affect the course of the war but does not say whether such a front has been re-established.
- Iran’s role in the Houthi advance on the Red Sea coast in September. Mainichi’s article is truncated at the point where it mentions Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, so the claim is incomplete in the available text.
- Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan said they would immediately move to a collective defence posture under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement signed in early August, taking measures to deploy forces rapidly to Saudi Arabia. Reported by a single source so far
- The Houthis said they carried out missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi Aramco facilities and Riyadh airport. Reported by a single source so far
- Saudi Arabia said it would provide ‘full operational support’ for the interim government’s military operation. Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Mainichi Shimbun reports that the interim government announced on 4 October a large-scale military operation against the Houthis and that its forces began attacks on the Red Sea coast near Bab el-Mandeb on 5 October, retaking part of the area. [ 1 ]
- Sankei Shimbun reports that media on the interim government’s side said its forces recaptured the port city of Mocha on 5 October, while Houthi official al-Bukhayti told Kyodo that fighting around the strait was continuing. [ 2 ]
- Sankei reports that Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan said on 5 October they would immediately move to a collective defence posture under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, and that the Houthis claimed missile and drone operations against Saudi Aramco facilities and Riyadh airport. [ 2 ]
- Nishi-Nippon Shimbun carries a summary saying the interim government may have retaken a Red Sea port city and that the Houthis say fighting continues. [ 3 ]