Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, gather during a protest against Saudi-led airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
Control of Mokha gives the Houthis an expanded presence on Yemen’s western coastline.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
The Houthi rebels in Yemen are taking advantage of a lack of international attention to strengthen their hold on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at Iran’s request, Kan News reported Thursday evening.
Iran-backed Houthi forces took control of the strategic Yemeni port city of Mokha on Thursday after government-aligned troops withdrew, three anti-Houthi Yemeni government officials told Reuters, extending Houthi positions along the Red Sea coast near a major international shipping route.
Mokha is less than 50 miles north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and serves as a major chokepoint for global maritime traffic.
Control of Mokha gives the Houthis an expanded presence on Yemen’s western coastline, where they also control al-Hodeidah, and strengthens their position near the Bab el-Mandeb.
Forces opposed to the Houthis in Yemen believe that Saudi Arabia and the United States are not doing enough to counter them.
A source among those Saudi-backed forces told Kan News that intelligence in their possession indicates Iran asked the Houthis to strengthen their hold on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait as a complement to the move to block the Strait of Hormuz.
The source added that Saudi Arabia has not provided sufficient assistance to the forces and only began carrying out airstrikes in the area in recent days.
According to the source, the Americans are also showing little interest in the Houthi threat at this time.
Separately, a source with UAE-backed forces in Yemen told Kan News that they are not involved in the events in question, which are being handled by the Saudis and their allies in the country.
“We warned all along how important it was to drive the Houthis out of the port city of al-Hodeidah in the west of the country,” the source said.
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