Houthis redeploy in western Yemen after strikes, The National reports
Houthi militants have redeployed forces in recently captured areas of Yemen’s western coast after suffering significant losses from strikes by government troops. The National reported this, citing a Yemeni security source.
According to the publication’s source, the Houthis are trying to reduce the visible presence of their fighters to avoid airstrikes in the open coastal desert. The redeployment in areas captured only a few days ago limits their access to the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Strikes near Mocha and Dhubab
The Houthis, described in the report as backed by Iran, said they had been subjected to dozens of airstrikes on Saturday and Sunday in the provinces of Al Bayda, Al Jawf, Hajjah, Lahj, Saada, and Taiz.
Mohammed al-Basha, founder of the U.S. consulting firm Basha Report, assessed that Houthi forces can no longer effectively control the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and have withdrawn most of their forces from the area. According to him, government troops have not yet fully secured the territory, but sustained air support has effectively limited the Houthis’ ability to operate there.
On Saturday, government forces declared a designated military target zone south of the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. It included Dhubab and Mocha, which the Houthis captured at the end of the previous week. The Yemeni military released a video that it said showed strikes on Houthi positions in these towns.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Armed forces spokesman Colonel Majed al-Nuzaili urged civilians not to use the Taiz–Mocha road and the coastal route from Mocha to Dhubab because of military operations.
Population displacement
According to the UN International Organization for Migration, the number of displaced people in Yemen has exceeded 85,000 since the escalation began. More than 2,000 people have arrived in Djibouti, fleeing the fighting.
In the southwestern province of Taiz, where fighting continues, 9,280 households, or about 56,000 people, have been displaced. The organization noted that families are being forced to flee for the second or third time during the 12-year conflict, while roads are becoming increasingly inaccessible and communications in affected areas are disrupted.
During operations on the western coast, the Houthis also seized the islands of Perim and Zuqar, which are important for maritime security. Perim Island is located in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait between mainland Yemen and Djibouti and divides the waterway into two channels.
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