Fall of Mokha
2026 Battle in the Yemeni Civil War
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In September 2026, the Houthi-led Supreme Political Council launched a surprise offensive to capture the Red Sea coast of western Yemen and territory around Taiz to cement its influence over the Strait of Bab al-Mandab.[7][8] The offensive that followed heavily concentrated on the port city of Mokha, and the city served as an epicentre of the Houthi offensive.[citation needed]
| Fall of Mokha | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of 2026 Yemen offensives during the Yemeni civil war | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 HouthisSupported by:  Quds Force[1] | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Mahdi al-Mashat Mohamed al-Atifi Abdolreza Shahlaei |
Rashad al-Alimi Tareq Saleh Sultan al-Arada | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
Per National Resistance Forces: 1,000+ Killed thousands Injured (Along the entire west coast between 9 August–10 September)[2][3] Per PLC: dozens of vehicles destroyed[4] 1 M113 APC destroyed[5] 5 UAVs shot down |
 Per National Resistance Forces:500+ Killed 1,500 Injured (Along the entire west coast between 9 August–10 September)[2][2] Per Al Jazeera: Millions of dollars in equipment captured[6] | ||||||
The Houthis eventually captured the city of Mokha on 10 September.[9] The city of Mokha was previously under the control of the Yemeni National Resistance led by Tareq Saleh.[citation needed]
The fall of Mokha was attributed to the Houthis' use of swarm tactics, and the "tactical withdrawal" of the National Resistance that caused the lines in Mokha to collapse.[10][11]
Strategic importance
Mokha is a port city on the Red Sea along the Strait of Bab al-Mandab and has served as the headquarters of the National Resistance and a primary supply hub of the PLC.[12]
Timeline
On 3 September 2026, the SPC forces launched a broad ground assault in western Taiz and along the Red Sea coast. Government sources stated that the aim was to sever the Taiz-Mokha road and isolate Mokha.[13] On 4 September, sources reported more than 120 combatants killed over the first two days.[14]
Between 5 and 6 September, PLC forces regained ground, capturing several hilltops around southern and western Taiz, including terrain near Jabal Habashi.[15] On 8 September, the Institute for the Study of War assessed that the PLC advances were halted in part due to the difficult terrain vulnerable to a Houthi attack.[16]
On 9 September, reports indicated that large numbers of Houthi fighters were moved from Sanaa and central Yemen toward western Taiz and the coastal front. During the night of 9–10 September, the Houthis launched a major attack against the PLC salient in southern Hodeidah. Pressure from both the north and the elevated terrain to the east threatened to encircle PLC aligned troops, prompting withdrawals to the south with the National Resistance Forces and the PLC forces conducting a 'tactical retreat' to Dhubab district[17] allowing Houthi forces to seize the city and port with minimum resistance.
Aftermath
The Houthi advance continued south after Mokha. On 11 September, Reuters reported that the Houthi forces had taken Dhubab, the PLC's last Red Sea coastal town/port, and reached Perim Island in the Bab al-Mandeb strait.[18] Subsequently, the Houthis took Greater and Lesser Hanish,[19] tightening their grip on shipping in the Red Sea.[18] Meanwhile, the PLC claimed to have carried out airstrikes against Houthi personnel, vehicles and weapons near Mokha and on the Mocha-Dhubab road, about 11 km from the city.[20]
On 10 September, Al Jazeera reported more than 20,000 people displaced across Taiz and Hodeidah governorates over the preceding two weeks, including people fleeing south from Mokha.[21] By 12 September, The Guardian reported that nearly 50,000 civilians had fled the western Yemeni fighting.[22]
Analysis
The Houthi capture of Mocha led to the fall of the rest of the Yemeni Western coast by the next day and led to Houthis cementing their position along the Bab el Mandeb Strait.[19]
The AI-development agency Anthropic later claimed that the Houthis had used the AI-chatbot Claude (AI) to manufacture rockets, and missile systems and after getting to know it the company banned all the associated accounts in this operation of the Houthis.[23] Moreover, during the Fall of Mocha, media outlets like NDTV and India Today reported that the Houthis used Claude to generate a voice of Tareq Saleh to issue a fake order which called upon the National Resistance to retreat as the 'soldiers were suffering heavy casualties'.[24]