Saudi-backed Yemeni state forces say they struck Houthis in Red Sea port city seized by the rebels

Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces say they have struck Iran-allied Houthi fighters in the strategic Red Sea city of Mokha.

Following a week-long offensive, the Houthis on Friday captured Yemen’s Red Sea coast, cementing their hold on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital artery for Saudi Arabian oil exports as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed amid the US-Iran war.

“The armed forces destroyed vehicles and weapons and killed members of the Houthi terrorist militia backed by the Iranian regime,” near the port of the city of Mokha, the government news agency Saba reports.

The spokesman for the Yemeni government forces, Majed Abdullah al-Nazili, says they have also struck the Houthis’ “vehicles and members” on the Mokha-Dhubab road, 11 kilometers (7 miles) from the city, according to Saba.

Nazili said Friday they had begun shelling areas in Mokha, and called on citizens not to use the Taiz-Mokha and Mokha-Dhubab roads.

The Houthis seized control of Mokha on Thursday, with their attack driving many to flee to Aden, where the internationally recognized government is based.

On Friday, Houthi media said two Saudi strikes hit Mokha’s airport, while a local official said the city’s seaport was hit by six missiles of unknown origin.

The Houthi offensive, which started last week, has killed more than 500 people, according to sources on both sides.

It has also displaced about 46,000 people, the UN migration agency said on Friday.

It is part of renewed hostilities in Yemen’s civil war that began with the group’s takeover of the capital Sanaa in 2014.