Nearly 50,000 flee as Houthi forces sweep along Yemen's Red Sea coast
Iran-backed Houthi fighters have seized a string of towns in western Yemen within days, including the port city of Mokha and Perim Island, forcing almost 50,000 civilians from their homes.
Rapid offensive
Houthi forces have carried out a sudden, fast-moving advance along Yemen's western coast over the past week, capturing towns and villages from Saudi- and US-backed government forces. According to the BBC, the Houthis took the strategic port city of Mokha — long regarded as the birthplace of the global coffee trade — and later seized Perim Island (Mayyun), which sits at the narrowest point of the Bab al-Mandab Strait. A Yemeni military source told the BBC the group now controls the entire coastline. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the offensive began on 3 September in response to what he called Saudi "aggression," claiming hundreds of government troops had been killed, wounded or captured across six districts in the Taiz and Hodeidah regions. The Guardian also reports hundreds of deaths, though no source gives a precise, agreed toll.
Mass displacement
The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday that 46,000 people had been displaced across the Taiz and Hodeidah governorates, a figure widely rounded up to "nearly 50,000" in coverage of the crisis. For many families, this is the second or third time they have been forced to flee. IOM spokesperson Joe Lowry said people were leaving suddenly, often at night and with few belongings, as fighting cut off major roads and disrupted phone networks in some areas. The most urgent needs, he said, are emergency shelter, cash assistance, food, water and healthcare.
Battle for a global chokepoint
The fighting centres on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the world's most vital shipping lanes linking Asia and Europe. The Houthis say international shipping remains safe but have reiterated threats against Saudi-flagged vessels. The Guardian reports that oil prices have already risen above $100 a barrel, up from roughly $80 a few weeks earlier.
International response
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has personally urged US President Donald Trump to take military action, according to the BBC, but Trump has so far declined direct involvement, offering intelligence and targeting support instead. UN special envoy Hans Grundberg told an emergency Security Council meeting that Yemen has entered "a new and more dangerous phase of war," warning it could end the relative calm maintained since the 2022 UN-brokered truce. Yemen's earlier civil war killed roughly 150,000 people, and a recent UN report found that nearly half of the country's 40 million people now face acute food insecurity.
