Houthis Push for the Red Sea Coast as Fighting Spreads in Yemen
Coastal shipping and the ports of Mocha and Khawkhah are taking the heaviest damage
Fighting has broken out on most fronts along the internal frontier within Yemen, with Houthi forces attempting to push through to the Red Sea coast south of Hodeidah.
The Houthis are presenting the fighting as a confrontation with Saudi Arabia. In practice the Saudis are acting largely in a back-up and support role for the forces of the Internationally Recognized Government, primarily through air power, and are directly engaged only on the northern border and on the receiving end of drone and missile attacks inside Saudi Arabia, to which the response has been restrained.
Neither side has made a substantial breakthrough. The Houthis spent several months preparing the population of the areas they control in northern Yemen for renewed conflict with Saudi Arabia and signaling their intentions, which gave IRG forces time to prepare pre-emptive strikes and counter-attack plans.
The tactical objective remains unclear. The primary aim appears to be to bring the Saudis back to negotiations with a better offer, as the Houthis are unhappy with the progress of the Omani-sponsored talks on a final settlement to the civil war. That war began in 2014 and has been effectively paused since a de facto ceasefire came into force in 2022.
In line with that aim, the Houthi threat to shipping is nominally directed only at vessels the group identifies as Saudi, though targeting errors have followed as before. There has been no apparent attempt to strike what can loosely be described as Western or Asian vessels. The United States has said its ceasefire covering shipping in the Red Sea remains in force, and has warned that any break in that status quo would prompt a repeat of Operation Rough Rider. The EU's Operation Aspides has not reported any attack on vessels under its escort, and merchant traffic levels through the southern Red Sea are being maintained.
The coastline is the exception. Along the front line south of Hodeidah, where the IRG-held coastal plain transitions into the jebel held by the Houthis, the group is attacking from the landward side in an apparent attempt to break through and reach the sea.
Port facilities and coastal shipping serving the IRG-held coastline have been heavily attacked, in particular at Mocha and the small port of Khawkhah. The Tanzanian-flagged coastal ferry Tihama, IMO 1031329, operating in the Bab el Mandeb, suffered several missile hits that killed four Pakistanis, an Indonesian and two Yemeni Coastguard rescuers, before being brought into the port of Ras Menhali at Murad, opposite Perim Island. The formerly Indonesian-flagged landing craft Amir Khan 1468, IMO 1088504, which was laid up at Ras Menhali, was also damaged, but was not crewed and suffered no casualties. Both vessels have well-established civilian roles, and the Houthi claim that both were Saudi vessels transferring military supplies was false.
Seizing more of the coastline south of Hodeidah would strengthen the Houthi grip on the southern Red Sea and provide bargaining power comparable to the IRGC's over-watch of the Strait of Hormuz. Progress so far has been limited, casualties appear heavy, and IRG forces have held their positions. A televised speech by Houthi leader AbdulMalik al Houthi on Thursday, August 20, may restate war aims or signal an adjustment in direction.
