Yemeni rebels are putting up fierce resistance in a key Red Sea port #marsec

Yemeni rebels are putting up fierce resistance in a key Red Sea port city where they are encircled by pro-government forces, military and health officials said Thursday.

"The city centre is still in the hands of the Huthis, while the loyalist forces have taken up positions on three axes around the city and cut off the rebels' supply route between Mokha and Taez" further east, a military official said.

He said the rebels had "no choice" but to leave Mokha and head towards the rebel stronghold of Hodeida further north on the Red Sea coast.

Nearly 230 rebel and loyalist fighters have been killed since Hadi's forces launched a vast offensive on January 7 to drive the Huthis from Yemen's southwestern coast.

Pro-government forces have succeeded in recapturing the Dhubab district north of the Bab al-Mandab strait, a key maritime route connecting the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Loyalist forces said Monday they had also captured the port in Mokha, but rebels are still holed up inside the city.

Full report here; Daily Mail