A Yemeni family spends a week on the road fleeing another Houthi offensive
A Yemeni family fled al-Khokha and spent a week on the road after government forces withdrew and Houthi fighters advanced along the Red Sea coast in early September. Saeed Hassan and his brother Mohammed joined other displaced people in a multi-day flight south, witnessing retreating soldiers, abandoned weapons and roadside casualties before reaching Mukalla.
Why It Matters
The episode illustrates the immediate civilian impact of the Houthi offensive that seized key coastal towns and the Bab al-Mandeb strait, triggering renewed displacement in a country already devastated by years of war. Large-scale territorial gains along the Red Sea have humanitarian and strategic consequences for movement, aid access and maritime routes.
Key Facts
- Date of retreat reported by family: September 9 (evening)
- Family members quoted: Saeed Hassan (58) and his brother Mohammed (47)
- Previous displacement: Family had been displaced from countryside near Hodeidah in 2018
- Location they fled: Al-Khokha, a Red Sea town between Hodeidah and Mocha
- Cities seized by Houthis: Mocha and al-Khokha; Houthis completed offensive on the Red Sea coast the following day
When government forces began withdrawing from front lines near al-Khokha on the evening of September 9, Saeed Hassan traveled to the town and found a large-scale military retreat. Alarmed by rows of departing soldiers and trucks, Saeed and his brother Mohammed decided to flee with their extended families rather than remain as Houthi fighters advanced.
The brothers left in separate pick-up trucks late that night carrying only what they could manage. Their departure followed a missile strike on a nearby displaced persons camp that wounded several people; Mohammed’s son Shaker narrowly avoided a second explosion while checking the scene. The families had previously been displaced from the Hodeidah countryside in 2018 and had settled in al-Khokha before this new offensive.
On the road south toward Mocha and Aden, the families encountered chaotic scenes: retreating soldiers abandoning weapons, the remains of those hit by missile and drone strikes, and civilians trudging away from the fighting. Both trucks suffered tyre damage during the journey, leaving the travellers hungry, thirsty and exhausted as they pressed on amid continuing explosions and gunfire.
They ultimately reached Mukalla, on the Gulf of Aden, where Saeed and related families have taken refuge and now search daily for work. Their experience reflects a broader Houthi advance that allowed the group to seize Mocha and, the following day, consolidate control over stretches of the Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandeb strait, prompting a fresh wave of displacement and raising humanitarian concerns for civilians in the affected governorates.
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