Saudi-backed Yemeni forces said they secured ground near the Bab al-Mandab Strait and reached Mokha. The Houthis denied losing the area and said they struck Saudi targets.
Yemeni pro-government forces backed by Saudi Arabia said they had secured the Bab al-Mandab Strait and captured the Red Sea city of Mokha on Monday with the help of Saudi air strikes, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
Those claims were contested within hours. Unnamed Yemeni government and military sources told Reuters and AFP that the forces had only reached Mokha's outskirts, the BBC said. Military sources told AFP they had taken Dhubab airfield and cut the road linking Dhubab to Bab al-Mandab, without confirming the city's capture. The Houthis denied losing Bab al-Mandab or Mokha and called the claims Saudi propaganda.
Just Security, citing Yemeni officials, reported that coalition forces recaptured areas around the strait and that officials said the towns of Dhubab, Bab and Hadeid had been captured. The same officials said the offensive was aimed at ground the Houthis had taken in recent weeks.
The Houthis said they struck Saudi airports, including Najran and Jizan, in response. Al Jazeera, cited on Wikipedia's current-events portal, reported material damage and three people wounded in those attacks. Independent confirmation of each strike location was not available in the reports reviewed.
The strait is a main route between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Both sides said fighting was continuing. No neutral monitor had published a verified front-line map by Tuesday afternoon.
People Sentiments Negative
- Yemeni military statements said government forces had secured the strait.
- Houthi-run media rejected the claims as Saudi propaganda.