Yemen appears to be spiraling back to war after the Iran-backed Houthis seized a strategic port city from allies of the internationally recognized government. Mokha lies on the Bab el-Mandeb, a critical shipping chokepoint that is the gateway to the Red Sea. Nick Schifrin reports.Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.
Geoff Bennett:
Yemen appears to be sliding back toward all-out war after Houthi rebels backed by Iran seized the key port city of Mokha from allies of the internationally recognized government. Mokha sits on the Bab al-Mandab, a critical shipping choke point and gateway to the Red Sea.Nick Schifrin has more on the escalating conflict, which is pushing oil prices higher and raising fears of a wider regional war.
Nick Schifrin:
In Yemen today, a Houthi advance that once again threatens a global fault line. Iran-backed Houthi fighters chanted death to the U.S. and Israel as they walked into a government building today and released these videos of Central Mokha, seizing Western armored vehicles, releasing prisoners held by Yemeni government allies, and on a joyride on the Mokha Airport.This is territory that's been contested for more than a decade. For weeks, the fighting's been simmering. Saudi-backed Yemeni fighters have tried to hold the line. But they have been pushed back quickly, as the Houthis have captured a string of positions in Yemen leading to Mokha, which sits on Yemen's coast just a short distance from the Bab al-Mandab, the 20-mile-wide gateway to the Red Sea.It was already one of the world's most important maritime choke points, more so since Iran has maintained its choke hold on the Strait of Hormuz. Already, the Houthis had been threatening Saudi ships, and they attacked key Saudi energy and military facilities across the border.Saudi officials say the Houthi attacks have destroyed civilian homes and wounded more than 70 people.
