Houthis Seize Yemen Port As Oil Prices Surge Above $100; Christians Alarmed

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

ADEN, YEMEN (Worthy News) – Iran-backed Houthi forces seized Yemen’s strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha, raising fears for global shipping as escalating Middle East tensions pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel.

Houthis took control of Mocha on Thursday after intense fighting with forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government and advanced toward the Hanish islands in the Red Sea.

Their territorial gains bring the group closer to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the narrow waterway connecting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes.

Controlling Yemen’s capital Sanaa and much of the country’s north, the Houthis increasingly sought territory along the western coastline.

These latest advances were expected to give the group greater ability to threaten traffic passing through Bab el-Mandeb toward the Red Sea and Suez Canal.

OIL PRICES SURGE

The Houthi offensive added another threat to energy supplies already strained by attacks on tankers and restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula.

Markets already reacted with Brent crude settling Thursday at $107.63 a barrel, up more than 6 percent, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude reached $102.48, its first close above $100 since May.

Both benchmarks reached their highest levels since May as traders weighed the possibility of prolonged disruptions to Middle Eastern oil supplies and shipping.

About 8 percent of global oil supplies passed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the second quarter of 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, while the Strait of Hormuz normally handles roughly one-fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption.

Saudi Arabia increasingly relies on its Red Sea export infrastructure as an alternative to Hormuz, making control around Bab el-Mandeb particularly important for the kingdom and international energy markets.

STRATEGIC SHIPPING ROUTES

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam maintained that international trade and freedom of navigation remain safe and that the group’s military operations target specific interests.

However, the Houthis threatened Saudi vessels and say their military campaign will continue until what they describe as aggression against Yemen ends.

With oil flows through Hormuz already restricted, serious disruption around Bab el-Mandeb could further tighten supplies, increase shipping costs and push energy prices higher.

The clashes also pose the most serious threat in years to the relative calm that followed a U.N.-brokered truce in 2022.

United Nations officials warned that further escalation could carry severe political, economic and security consequences for Yemen and undermine efforts to revive a negotiated settlement.

CIVILIANS FLEE FIGHTING

For Yemenis, renewed warfare adds to an already severe humanitarian emergency after years of civil war, economic collapse and widespread hunger.

Hundreds of women and children reportedly fled Mocha toward government-held areas as fighting intensified, while markets closed and residents sought safety.

The United Nations said more than 5,600 households were displaced across Taiz and southern Al Hudaydah since the latest escalation began September 3.

More than 22 million people in Yemen are expected to require humanitarian assistance and protection during 2026, including some 5.2 million internally displaced people, according to U.N. estimates.

U.N. agencies also estimate 18.3 million people face acute food insecurity, while more than 2.2 million children under age 5 suffer from acute malnutrition.

CHRISTIANS FACE PRESSURE

Only about 59 percent of Yemen’s health facilities are fully functional after more than a decade of conflict, while aid organizations struggle with severe funding shortages.

The renewed warfare comes as Yemen’s small Christian community faces intense pressure. Christian advocacy group Open Doors ranks Yemen third on its 2026 World Watch List of countries where it says Christians face the most severe persecution.

Most indigenous Christians are converts from Islam who practice their faith secretly, according to Open Doors, while the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom says Christians and other religious minorities face harassment, intimidation and violence in Houthi-controlled areas.

The latest fighting threatens to deepen the suffering of Christians and millions of other Yemenis already enduring hunger, displacement and insecurity linked to one of the world’s longest-running humanitarian crises.