Yemen government forces say Houthi ‘members, vehicles’ targeted in Mocha

Yemeni government forces say they have launched air strikes on Houthi fighters along the Red Sea coast after the group seized full control of the strategic shoreline.

The country witnessed a sharp military escalation across several fronts on Saturday, particularly along the country’s western coast, as fighting continued with government forces describing the confrontation as a “battle for survival”.

Yemen’s government news agency, Saba, reported that “the armed forces destroyed vehicles and weapons and killed members of the Houthi terrorist militia backed by the Iranian regime” near the port of the city of Mocha.

The spokesperson for the government forces, Majed Abdullah al-Nazili, said they have also struck the Houthis’ “vehicles and members” on the Mocha-Dhubab road, 11km (7 miles) from the city, according to Saba.

The Houthis captured the city of Mocha on Thursday and the island of Mayun on Friday, completing their hold on the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a narrow waterway vital to global oil shipping.

The United Nations said on Friday that nearly 46,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since fighting escalated earlier this week, though the figure is likely higher, according to Abdusattor Esoev, chief of the International Organization for Migration in Yemen.

Esoev told Al Jazeera that the fall of Mocha, where the UN maintained a strong presence, had made it more difficult for aid agencies to reach people in need.

Saudi Arabia has temporarily closed its critical East-West oil pipeline, a 1,200km (746-mile) conduit stretching across the Arabian Peninsula, after it was attacked by drones on Friday.