Nabil watched from his balcony as a column of displaced people passed by at dawn on September 10, hours before Houthi forces entered Mocha, a Yemeni city on the Red Sea.
asserted
forces → watch → Sea
“People were terrified.
asserted
People → terrify → ?
There was fear everywhere,” he said.
asserted
he → be → ?
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army → disrupt → 4A
Yemeni family spends a week on the road fleeing another Houthi offensive
Nabil, a daily wage labourer in his 40s, did not join them.
asserted
Nabil → spend → them
He still lives in Yakhtul, a village north of Mocha, alongside relatives, none of whom has left their homes.
asserted
none → live → homes
“Displacement is humiliation and homelessness,” he said.
asserted
he → say → ?
“I haven’t done anything wrong, so I have nothing to be afraid of, and I don’t belong to any side.
asserted
I → do → side
Weeks after the Houthis took Mocha from forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognised government, thousands of civilians remain in the district.
asserted
thousands → take → district
The Houthis – an armed group that has controlled much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, since September 2014 – have fought the government for more than a decade in a civil war that has drawn in a Saudi-led military coalition.
asserted
that → control → coalition
No one knows how many people remain in Mocha, but according to Yemen’s last census in 2004 the city had 62,500 residents.
uncertain
city → know → residents
The government has declared Mocha a military zone and alleged that the Houthis have forced residents to demonstrate in support of the group or join its ranks.
asserted
Houthis → declare → ranks
Residents interviewed by Al Jazeera did not describe forced demonstrations, but one who asked not to be identified because he feared for his safety said three of his neighbours have been recruited and armed by the Houthis.
asserted
three → interview → Houthis
They are now on the front lines fighting against government forces.
asserted
They → fight → forces
“Today my wife heard from a woman who came to our house that a Houthi-armed pick-up truck had kept coming to their home, wanting to recruit her sons, but she refused,” he said.
asserted
he → hear → sons
“I know these people.
asserted
I → know → people
One of her sons even spoke to me about it himself.”
asserted
One → speak → it
The truck left after she refused, he said.
asserted
he → leave → ?
A refuge emptied
Mocha’s port lies about 75km (45 miles) north of the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a chokepoint for Red Sea shipping that the Houthis have repeatedly targeted since late 2023.
asserted
Houthis → empty → 2023
After government-aligned forces recaptured Mocha in 2017, the city became a refuge for Yemenis fleeing Houthi-controlled territory.
asserted
city → align → territory
That changed in early September when fighting moved down the coast and families fled towards Aden, Taiz and Lahij.
asserted
families → change → Aden
Many had already escaped Houthi rule once before.
asserted
Many → escape → rule
On the evening of September 10, the government declared Mocha and its surroundings a “kill box”, a strike zone, warning that any Houthi movement there would be met with available firepower.
asserted
movement → declare → firepower
Attacks began the following day.
asserted
Attacks → begin → ?
Now residents say that leaving Mocha is almost impossible.
asserted
leaving → say → Mocha
“After the kill box was declared, the government opened the old al-Barh road so people could leave,” said Fuad, a 27-year-old pharmacist.
uncertain
Fuad → declare → road
“Some got out, some were prevented by the Houthis and some stayed home, fearing the hardship of displacement.”
asserted
some → get → displacement
The Houthis have imposed a nighttime curfew on the city.
asserted
Houthis → impose → city
Prices have soared, and power cuts have grown frequent, Nabil said.
asserted
Nabil → soar → ?
A cooking gas cylinder has more than doubled in price to about 20,000 rials ($13), and a 50kg (110lb) sack of flour has risen by 8,000 rials ($5).
asserted
sack → cook → rials
“A day’s work barely covers petrol and lunch,” he said.
asserted
he → cover → petrol
“Children have stopped going to school.”
asserted
Children → stop → school
Classrooms remain largely empty.
asserted
Classrooms → remain → ?
“Parents and students are afraid of shelling or of their sons being thrown onto the front lines,” said Mansour, a teacher at a government secondary school who could not afford to flee with his family of seven.
uncertain
who → throw → seven
I have nothing to do with politics,” he said.
asserted
he → have → politics
“In the end, we only die once.”
asserted
we → die → end
For Umm Khaled, a woman in her 60s whose husband is disabled and bedridden, leaving Mocha was never an option.
asserted
leaving → leave → Mocha
“Where would I flee to?
asserted
I → flee → Where
Look at my situation,” she said.
asserted
she → look → situation
Her son, who had supported the family by fishing, joined the government-aligned National Resistance Forces for a monthly salary of 1,000 Saudi riyals ($267).
asserted
who → support → riyals
…and 29 more, not listed.
The Aporia
