Yemen's government has retaken a Red Sea town from the Houthis (Ansarallah), AFP reported Thursday (December 7th).
Yemeni forces backed by the Arab coalition launched an operation overnight and drove the Houthis out of Khokha, which fell into the Iran-backed militia’s hands in January, an army captain and officials in the town said.
The news could not be independently confirmed.
Khokha lies between the port of al-Hodeida, which is held by the Houthis, and government-controlled Mokha, and is central to the expansion of government control over the coastline.
Al-Hodeida port is the main conduit for UN-supervised deliveries of food and medicine to Yemen, where poverty has been compounded by war and a coalition blockade on ports and airports.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded that Saudi Arabia immediately allow vital humanitarian supplies to reach Yemen.
Riyadh had imposed a blockade on Yemen's ports after a Houthi missile was intercepted near Riyadh airport on November 4th.
Meanwhile, the Houthis on Thursday held a mass memorial ceremony in Sanaa for comrades killed in this month's battle for control of the city.
Witnesses said clashes erupted again Thursday around the residence of Tarek Saleh, a nephew of slain ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Houthi commander Yahya Mahdi said the Houthis were still holding Saleh's body.
