AL-MUKALLA: At least seven missiles launched by the Iran-backed Houthis struck two government-controlled areas on Yemen’s Red Sea coast on Monday, as the militia continued to mourn dozens of fighters killed during its latest military escalation, local officials said.
Two missiles struck Mokha seaport in Taiz province, causing further damage to infrastructure already battered by previous attacks, Abdul Malik Al-Shara’bi, director of the port, told Arab News.
Al-Shara’bi announced on Saturday the suspension of operations at the port after more than two dozen Houthi missiles and drones damaged facilities, accommodation and equipment, forcing hundreds of workers to remain at home.
Local military officials said the Houthis had fired more than 60 missiles and drones in successive waves at military and civilian sites in Mokha since Aug. 9, including its strategically important port, killing seven people and wounding 30 others.
Elsewhere on the Red Sea coast on Monday, the Houthis fired at least five missiles at the Amir Khan, a vessel that has been docked near the Bab Al-Mandab Strait for more than a year while undergoing repairs, Brig. Gen. Sadiq Duwaid, spokesperson for the government’s National Resistance, told Arab News.
Duwaid said the vessel was owned by a Yemeni trader.
The Houthis, meanwhile, claimed to have carried out a missile attack on what they described as a Saudi military landing ship and four accompanying boats in the Red Sea near Mokha.
The latest attacks prompted Yemeni Prime Minister Shaya Al-Zindani to strongly condemn Houthi strikes on ports and other vital civilian infrastructure in government-controlled areas, as well as attacks on commercial shipping.
During a visit to the Ministry of Transport in Aden on Monday, Al-Zindani ordered its institutions and authorities to remain on high alert and reviewed contingency plans aimed at ensuring the continued movement of passengers and goods through Yemen’s entry and exit points, according to the official SABA News Agency.
He instructed the ministry to strengthen coordination and preparedness and adopt measures to ensure a rapid response to any further attacks or disruption.
Meanwhile, the Houthis have continued to hold funeral processions for dozens of fighters killed on the battlefield, offering one of the clearest indications of mounting losses during the latest escalation.
According to reports by the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV, the group held funeral processions on Sunday for at least 30 fighters in Sanaa, Saada, Amran and other areas under its control.
About 70 percent of those buried were identified as officers of various military ranks.
Since Aug. 6, when the Houthis began their latest military escalation against government-controlled areas, the group has held funeral processions for hundreds of fighters, marking one of the most visible waves of Houthi military funerals since the UN-brokered truce came into effect in April 2022.
Yemeni military officials and experts say the apparent high number of Houthi casualties, despite the absence of major ground fighting, could partly reflect the growing use of modern drones by government forces.
The Yemeni army has recently released footage it says shows drones dropping explosives on Houthi fighters, military equipment and defensive positions, as well as destroying vehicles.
It has also released footage apparently recorded from a first-person view, or FPV, drone pursuing a Houthi vehicle before striking it.
Nadwa Al-Dawsari, an associate fellow at the Middle East Institute, said the reported Houthi losses reflected a shift in the battlefield capabilities available to government forces, particularly the use of drones.
“Over the past eight years, government forces have largely been on the defensive, but we are now seeing a significant shift. For the first time they are deploying effective combat capabilities, including FPV drones, against the Houthis,” she told Arab News.
Al-Dawsari said the Houthis had responded by intensifying missile and drone attacks amid concerns that government forces could launch a wider ground offensive.
She said: “This is putting the Houthis under new pressure at a time when they are already nervous about the possibility of ground operations against them, which is why they are escalating across several fronts.”
