Sana, 10 September 2026: Amidst the atmosphere of war, Houthi rebels have given a major blow to the Saudi Arabia-backed Yemeni government. Houthi rebels have taken complete control of the city of Mocha on the shores of the Red Sea. This city is located only 50 miles away from Bab el Mandeb. Saudi Arabia's concern has increased due to the capture of Houthi rebels here, because now Saudi will not be able to supply oil easily through this route. At a time when Pakistan and Turkey are appealing to withdraw from the war, Houthi rebels have captured the city of Mocha.
Three Yemen government officials said that Houthi rebels have captured Mocha by removing government security personnel. The capture of Mocha directly means that now the hold on Bab el Mandeb has also been strengthened. Not only this, the rebels also tried to harm the Defense Minister of the Yemen government, although he escaped unscathed in the Houthi attack.
There was a fierce battle between the Houthi fighters and the Yemeni army, after which the Yemeni soldiers retreated from there. After the army withdrew, Houthi fighters took control of the entire area. After capturing Mocha, Houthi fighters had celebrated a festival, videos of which are also going viral. According to reports, capturing the island of Perim is necessary to gain complete control over Bab el Mandeb. This island is located just off the coast of Mocha city. For a long time, Houthi fighters were trying to capture it, in which they have now got success.
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Importance of 'Bab el Mandeb'
The Red Sea is a sea route between Yemen and Africa, connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. Like the Strait of Hormuz, Bab-el-Mandeb is also an extremely important route for trade and energy supplies across the world, connecting Europe, Africa and West Asia.
Recently, when Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia exported a large amount of oil through the Bab el Mandeb route. According to reports, Saudi used to sell 3 million barrels of oil per day through this route. Now that tensions have flared up again between Iran and America, Iran has made a strategy to take control of this route through Houthi rebels.
In this context, the Houthi rebels have first taken control of the city of Mocha, and now they are moving towards closing this important trade route by capturing the island of Perim. It is noteworthy that 12% of the total oil and liquefied natural gas transported by sea passes through the Mandeb route.