Houthi attacks halt operations at Yemen's Mocha Port

The Yemeni government said on Saturday (15/8) that a series of Houthi missile and drone attacks had halted operational activities at the Port of Mocha on the Red Sea and caused direct material losses of around US$16 million (US$1 = Rp17,882).

Abdulmalik al-Sharabi, director of the government-controlled port, said at a press conference in Mocha that Houthi attacks over the past week killed seven people, including four members of the port security forces and three port employees, and caused extensive damage to facilities and equipment, the state news agency Saba reported.

Al-Sharabi said the Houthi attacks had damaged six wooden vessels and a dredger used in the port expansion project.

Meanwhile, the halt to shipping and commercial operations also left around 1,300 workers without their livelihoods.

Located in Taiz Province in southwestern Yemen, near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Port of Mocha is a main entry point for commercial goods and supplies to government-controlled areas.

The pro-government National Resistance Forces said on Friday (14/8) that the Houthis had launched 40 ballistic missiles and 46 drones, as well as explosive-laden boats, towards Mocha, targeting the port and several other locations in the area in the latest escalation.

The Houthis said their operations in the Mocha area targeted the build-up of military forces and weapons depots belonging to the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces.

However, the Yemeni government denied the claims and described the Port of Mocha as a civilian commercial facility.