Shafaq News- Sanaa
Yemen’s Houthis (Ansarallah) said on Thursday they had regained control along the Hays-Al-Khokha axis on the country’s western coast, advancing from Al-Jarrahi after forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government had earlier announced retaking the areas and pushing toward Al-Jarrahi.
Reuters separately verified footage showing armed Houthi fighters celebrating inside a security directorate building in Hays, confirming the group’s presence there.
Fighting has also intensified across several fronts in western Taiz, particularly Al-Barh, Maqbanah, Mawza, Al-Kadaha and Al-Wazi'iyah, where the two sides have exchanged control of positions during heavy clashes in recent days.
Government-aligned forces have carried out airstrikes on Houthi reinforcements and supply routes toward those areas, while ground forces fought for control of routes linking Taiz with Mocha.
Four Yemeni government military sources told Reuters on Thursday that Houthi forces had seized Mocha. Tareq Saleh subsequently instructed his National Resistance Forces on the western coast to establish an alternative command center in a safer location, according to Al-Jumhuriya television, which is affiliated with him.
Two Yemeni government sources also told Reuters that the Houthis had reached the Hanish islands and pushed government forces and their allies south toward Dhubab, which sits directly on Bab el-Mandeb across from Perim Island.
Skirmishes continued around Hadhran, Al-Dhabab and Jabal Habashi west of Taiz, as well as Al-Kurayfat to the east, where government-aligned forces continued to hold positions.
The latest advances have increased pressure around Bab el-Mandeb, a strategic shipping route connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi warned that further Houthi advances along the western coast could have consequences beyond Yemen, saying any attempt to alter the military balance near Bab el-Mandeb could not be treated solely as an internal Yemeni matter.
Al-Alimi accused the Houthis of “serving Iranian strategic interests” by expanding their ability to exert pressure around Bab el-Mandeb and the Red Sea. Iran says it does not control Houthi military decisions.