Saudi-backed Yemeni forces said they pushed Houthis off most of the Bab el-Mandeb coast seized last month and reached Mocha. The defence ministry said the city had fallen; other government sources told Reuters the troops were still on the outskirts.
Saudi-backed forces of Yemen's internationally recognised government said on Monday they had retaken the coast around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait up to Mocha, pushing Iran-backed Houthi fighters out of most areas seized last month, Reuters reported.
The Defence Ministry said Mocha had fallen. Four government sources told Reuters the forces had reached the outskirts late on Monday and that Houthi fighters were retreating into the highlands. Reuters said the claims could not be immediately verified. BBC News reported the same split: a military statement said National Shield, Giants Brigades and Tihama Resistance forces captured Mocha with Saudi air strikes, while unnamed sources told Reuters and AFP the city itself was not confirmed taken.
Government sources told AFP that forces had taken the Dhubab military airfield and cut the road linking Dhubab district to the Bab al-Mandab area. The military also said it was besieging fighters in the nearby town. Houthi-run media denied advances in Dhubab, the BBC reported. There was no immediate Houthi comment on Mocha.
The Saudi-led coalition said naval forces carried out an operation in Hodeidah governorate. Reuters noted that a confirmed advance would loosen Houthi control of a Red Sea route already affecting energy markets alongside Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, while drones could still be launched from other positions.
Saudi Arabia and Aramco did not immediately respond to Reuters. The next verifiable marker is whether independent imagery or a Houthi acknowledgement matches the ministry's claim that Mocha has fallen.