Ansar Allah called reports that Zubab and Mokha had fallen an attempt to create an illusion of victory. Yemen’s internationally recognized government had earlier said its forces captured the towns.
In a report published on October 6, RIA Novosti said Yemen’s ruling Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, had called reports that government forces captured the Red Sea towns of Zubab and Mokha fabricated. A military source speaking for the movement said the reports were intended to create an “illusion of victory” among supporters of the internationally recognized government. The statement was carried by the Saba news agency.
The same source said Houthi forces were continuing to advance and take areas in Taiz governorate in southwestern Yemen, which borders the Red Sea. Earlier, a spokesperson for the government-aligned army said its forces had captured Zubab and Mokha near the Bab al-Mandab Strait and had begun an advance toward Sana’a.
RIA Novosti reported that fighting resumed in mid-July after a four-year lull. Its report linked the renewed hostilities to government airstrikes on Sana’a airport as an Iranian plane carrying a Houthi leadership delegation was landing.