The Houthis have captured Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Mocha and are advancing south towards the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, marking a major escalation in the country’s long-running war.

Houthi control of a Red Sea port brings Tehran closer to claiming another critical waterway.

Government forces retreat south to establish alternate command center, aiming to keep vital shipping route in their hands; women and children flee Mocha for safer provinces