As the pro-Iran Houthi rebels in Yemen rapidly seized a string of strategic strongholds at the mouth of the Red Sea, Yemen government forces backed by Saudi Arabia launched a counteroffensive. U.S. President Donald Trump was reported to have rejected Saudi Arabia's request to join strikes against the Houthis.
On the 12th, according to AFP, Yemen's state-run Saba news agency reported that government forces destroyed Houthi vehicles and weapons and killed members near the Red Sea port of Mocha. A government Spokesperson said Houthi targets around the port of Mocha were also struck.
The government forces' counterattack began as the Houthis quickly took key positions in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the mouth of the Red Sea. The Houthis were said to have captured Perim Island, crucial to controlling the strait, after taking the port of Mocha.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is a vital route for transporting Saudi crude through the Red Sea to Europe and beyond. If the Houthis seize it, Saudi Arabia could face disruptions on its Red Sea oil route to the west, in addition to the Strait of Hormuz to the east. Passage in the Strait of Hormuz is limited due to an Iranian blockade.
The Houthis issued a statement the same day, claiming, "In the past 48 hours, Saudi enemy aircraft conducted 129 airstrikes on areas under Houthi control."
Earlier, the U.S. online outlet Axios and others reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman twice phoned President Trump to request support for strikes against the Houthis but was turned down.
President Trump acknowledged speaking with Crown Prince bin Salman but did not say whether he rejected the request for support or reveal details of the conversation.
However, at a news conference in Ireland that day, President Trump said the Houthi side conveyed that it does not want to fight the United States. He also signaled that the United States would not directly take part in strikes against the Houthis.
As clashes between Yemen government forces and the Houthis expand, the civil war, which had been in a lull since a 2022 truce, is intensifying again. The Yemen civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and confrontations have surged since July.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) under the United Nations said the number of displaced people in Yemen since July has reached 76,000. Of these, more than 70,000 fled in September, and the number of displaced people this week quadrupled from last week.
The IOM expressed concern, saying, "Most of the displaced are families and are moving mainly at night," and, "There is nowhere safe for them to go."