The fighting across Yemen's western front on Monday and Tuesday was focused on the Kahboub Mountains in the provinces of Taiz and Lahj. The Houthi attempt to take the strategic high ground came just days after they captured the key Red Sea port city of Mocha from Saudi-backed Yemeni forces. Should they succeed in capturing Kahboub, the remaining coastal corridor could be severed from the rest of the country, with the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and Mayyun Island having to be defended from southern government-held territory. The conflict in Yemen would be dramatically transformed and the Red Sea shipping lanes complicated for all parties involved.
Fighting in Yemen has intensified since Houthi forces captured the key Red Sea port city of Mocha earlier this month. The UN World Food Programme said some 125,000 civilians had been displaced in just days by the battle for Mocha. Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces had been based in the city and were said to have abandoned large numbers of armored vehicles as they retreated from the town. Now fighting is taking place on Kahboub Mountains that overlook Mayyun Island in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb choke point through which much of the world's shipping passes, Al Jazeera's Maha Ali reports from Taiz.
The conflict in Mocha has claimed 674 lives and displaced more than 158,000 people according to officials. Many of the healthcare centers in the city were immediately shut by the warring parties. In Mocha, the General Hospital is still running but is struggling to cope with the influx of patients including pregnant women, neonates and people too ill to move. Health workers from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) are doing their best to treat those in need.
The situation is evolving in terms of US airstrikes against the Houthis, with reports emerging of a last-minute reversal by President Trump on the matter. In the weekend before the Mocha fighting turned ugly, President Trump told the Pentagon to prepare for a series of airstrikes against Houthi positions in Yemen at the request of the government in Saudi Arabia. However, at the 11th hour, Trump apparently changed his mind and called off the planned sorties. Meanwhile, the US maintains a separate channel of communication with the Houthis who have given assurances that they will not fire on US service members engaged in the Yemen conflict. The Houthi leadership is not pleased with the prospect of US involvement in the ground war and has warned the US against such a development.
Yemen was already one of the poorest countries in the world before the conflict, which has already left 22 million people — half of the country's population — in need of humanitarian assistance. However, the increased funding needed to respond to a worsening crisis has not materialized, leaving a gap in the funds required to respond to a worsening humanitarian situation. OHCHR and WFP urge the international community to focus on the immediate humanitarian needs of civilians affected by the conflict.
The war for the Kahboub highlands is expected to continue over the next few days, and if the Houthis succeed in capturing them, the center of gravity in the ground war will shift to the remaining southern government-held territory, and the strategic passage through the Bab al-Mandeb will enter a new strategic environment.
