Yemen's Houthis reportedly seize strategic Red Sea port of Mokha

Yemen's Houthis reportedly take strategic Red Sea port of Mokha

Yemen's Houthi movement has taken control of the strategic Red Sea port city of Mokha from Saudi-backed pro-government forces, military sources said.

The seizure of Mokha would move the Iran-backed group closer to controlling the Bab al-Mandab strait, a vital shipping lane about 75km (46 miles) to the south that connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed and thousands forced from their homes since the Houthis began an offensive in the south-western coastal region a week ago.

Meanwhile, the Houthis' conflict with neighbouring Saudi Arabia has sharply intensified, helping drive up global oil prices.

On Tuesday, the Houthis fired dozens of drones and missiles at southern Saudi Arabia, injuring 73 civilians and sparking fires at several oil facilities that caused a temporary suspension of operations, according to Saudi authorities.

The Houthis said they were responding to dozens of Saudi air strikes on their territory in north-western Yemen in recent days, including one on a prison in the town of Hazm in Jawf province that local officials said killed at least 23 civilians.

A Saudi-led coalition of Arab states has supported Yemen's government against the Houthis in the country's devastating civil war for more than a decade.

A four-year-old informal ceasefire started to fall apart in July, when the Houthis announced a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia and launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea.

The Houthis said they were retaliating for a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in their territory, as well as an air strike on Sanaa airport that they blamed on the kingdom.

The Red Sea has become vital for Saudi Arabia's oil exports since the start of the US and Israel's war with Iran, which has resulted in the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.