Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels seize strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha

port city of Mocha on Thursday, with witnesses telling AFP of fighters marching on the area chanting"death to America, death to forces.

The Houthis launched attacks on Saudi territory that left dozens of people wounded, in a conflict that has reignited during the in late February.

A Yemeni military source told AFP on Thursday that the Iran-backed Houthis were advancing towards the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait "after having taken control of Mocha".

The waterway, which links Asia to , has gained importance as a transit route since the start of the wider Middle East war, which saw Iran blockade the in the Gulf, causing oil prices to soar.

On Thursday, the US oil contract WTI surpassed $100, after Brent North Sea crude -- the main international benchmark -- already did so on Wednesday.

After Mocha's capture, the leader of Yemen's internationally recognised Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, said the protection of the country's coasts and restoring state control of them was an "Arab and international interest".

The military source said the Houthis also seized Zuqar Island in the southern Red Sea, "after rocket attacks and a ground assault carried out using boats transporting fighters".

In a statement, Tarek Saleh, who heads the Yemeni National Resistance Forces that controlled Mocha, said he moved his command centre "to a safe location" to regroup.

Government forces have paid "a heavy price in recent days in the face of a Houthi offensive that was planned and supported by Iran", he added.

'Maritime coercion'

Before the offensive, the Houthis already controlled a large part of Yemen's north, including the capital Sanaa, as well as the major port city of Hodeidah on the Red Sea.

But they did not yet hold any areas directly overlooking Bab al-Mandab.

With their

Mujahid Tahami, who also set off for Aden, said some families had fallen victim to "looting by gangs as they tried to flee".