A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Saudi Arabia and its allied forces in Yemen say they've recaptured a port city from the Houthis that lies on a key oil shipping route.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
It's part of a new Saudi offensive against the Iran-backed Houthis, who gained ground in Yemen just weeks ago and captured territory along the Red Sea.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR's Aya Batrawy is in Dubai. So tell us - what exactly did Saudi Arabia do?
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Yeah, A. So the Saudi air force says a hundred fighter jets carried out this new offensive called Operation Dawn of Yemen yesterday, striking hundreds of targets. And then by nightfall, Saudi-backed forces in Yemen said that they had entered the Red Sea port city of Mokha (ph) and pushed the Houthis out. The Houthis, however, deny any loss of territory.
Now, this offensive comes around three weeks after the Houthis had swept into southwestern Yemen, capturing Mokha and islands in Bab el-Mandeb. That is the key Red Sea shipping route that Saudi Arabia had been using to export its oil, since the Strait of Hormuz to the east is blocked by Iran. Now, the Houthis have been targeting Saudi tankers in Bab el-Mandeb. They say that is in response to Saudi Arabia's blockade of Houthi areas and Houthi ports. But the Saudis say their blockade is to prevent Iran from transferring weapons to the Houthis. Now, this new Saudi offensive is basically an attempt to reverse the loss of territory in Yemen and regain that territory along the strait.
MARTÍNEZ: That port city, Mokha, that you mentioned - what kind of shape is it in?
BATRAWY: So most residents had fled Mokha when the Houthis swept into the city last month, and many of its hospitals had immediately shut down. And the U.N. says at least 180,000 people have been displaced overall in Yemen by this recent fighting. Now, we have spoken to aid workers who say women are giving birth in the open and people are sleeping under trees.
And NPR reached several Yemenis in the governorate of Taiz, which Mokha is a part of. One man confirmed to us yesterday that he fled an area that had been taken by the Houthis just yesterday that lies along a main road linking two Yemeni government strongholds. That's the city of Taiz and Aden to the south. They are now cut off from one another. I want you to have a listen to what a resident in Taiz city, Osama Al-Seraihi (ph), told NPR last night.
OSAMA AL-SERAIHI: (Speaking Arabic).
BATRAWY: So he says the Houthis have encircled the city of Taiz and that people can't flee because the road is now cut off. And he says a number of civilians were killed on the outskirts of the city by Houthi forces as they tried to advance. And he says Taiz is now facing a crisis of aid and fuel because it all came from Aden. So while you're seeing the Saudi-led forces make gains in Mokha, you're seeing the Houthis make gains around Taiz.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. We're also hearing about the Houthis who have been attacking Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones.
BATRAWY: Yeah. So the Houthis say that they have hit several Saudi Aramco oil sites in the past few days. We don't have confirmation of that, and Saudi Arabia's not commenting on specific attacks. The Houthis are, however, also targeting airbases in Saudi Arabia and airports. And the kingdom did say that Riyadh airport was among two airports that were hit last night in Saudi Arabia.
Now, to defend against these attacks, Saudi Arabia is getting some support from Britain and France. Yesterday, top ministers from Pakistan and Turkey also met in Saudi Arabia. And they confirmed that they're providing rapid military support now to the kingdom as part of the Mecca Agreement. That's the new defense pact that was signed by the three countries over the summer. And this pact really stems from President Trump's reluctance to get directly involved in another war in the Gulf. The U.S. has not agreed to Saudi Arabia's request for refueling support, but it is sharing intel on the Houthis.
MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR's Aya Batrawy in Dubai. Thank you very much.
BATRAWY: Thanks, A. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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