Cyprus News Agency

According to CCTV, Mocha Port, located near Yemen’s strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, has suspended commercial and maritime operations due to repeated Houthi missile and drone attacks.

Government and port officials said 7 people were killed in the attacks and direct economic losses had reached approximately $16 million.

Mocha Port, located in Taiz Governorate in southwestern Yemen, is an important entry point for commercial goods and essential supplies reaching areas under government control.

Port Director Abdulmalik al-Sharhabi said 4 members of the port security forces and 3 port employees were killed in attacks last week, while facilities and equipment sustained major damage.

Al-Sharhabi said the attacks affected various sections of the port as well as warehouses and maintenance workshops, adding, “Every economic facility in the port complex was targeted in the attack.”

Six wooden vessels used in the port expansion works and a dredger were also reported damaged in the attacks. The suspension of shipping and commercial activities deprived around 1,300 workers of income.

The attacks severely affected traders as well as commercial activity at the port. Mohammed al-Ghanami, head of the Mocha Traders’ Union, said commercial vessels anchored at the port were also damaged in the attacks.

Yemen’s pro-government National Resistance Forces said the Houthis used 40 ballistic missiles and 46 drones in attacks on Mocha Port and its surroundings between August 9 and 14. The statement also said explosive-laden boats were used in the attacks.

The Houthis, however, claimed that their operations in the Mocha area targeted military buildups and weapons depots belonging to Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces.

The Yemeni government rejected the claim, stressing that Mocha Port is a civilian and commercial facility.

The attacks on Mocha Port have increased concerns that large-scale fighting could resume in Yemen.

A United Nations-brokered ceasefire expired in October 2022. However, until the latest attacks, a fragile de facto truce had largely held across the country.

The latest developments have heightened concerns that the conflict in Yemen could escalate again.