The Yemeni armed forces on Saturday, August 15, 2026, vowed a “deterrent and tough” response to the targeting of the Mokha port with six ballistic missiles on Friday evening, in an attack claimed by the Houthis that killed eight people, according to a military official.
Vow to respond and protect civilian facilities
Majed al-Nuzaili, the official spokesman for the Yemeni armed forces, said in press statements carried by the Saba news agency that the targeting of the port would not go unpunished, stressing that the response would be proportional to the scale of the threat and the crimes committed, and that the armed forces would not allow civilian facilities and the interests of Yemenis to become vulnerable targets.
The targeting of the port “will not go unpunished,” and the response will be proportional to the scale of the threat and the crimes committed.
Al-Nuzaili added that the armed forces would continue to protect the Yemeni people, their resources, territorial waters and vital interests, and work to eliminate what he described as the “Houthi terrorist threat backed by the Iranian regime,” in a way that safeguards Yemen’s security and sovereignty and the safety of its citizens.
Eight killed and two vessels targeted
A military official told Agence France-Presse on Friday that the attack killed two security personnel and six civilians. He said the Houthis had fired missiles at two commercial vessels that were moored at the port to unload their cargoes.
Al-Nuzaili described the Mokha port as a vital civilian facility and an economic and maritime hub serving trade and the flow of food and basic goods, saying that targeting ports and civilian and economic facilities threatens food security and worsens the humanitarian crisis.
Warning of humanitarian and economic repercussions
The Yemeni Health Ministry, for its part, condemned the attack, warning that damage to ports and vital infrastructure is not limited to material and economic losses, but directly affects food, health and humanitarian security, as well as the movement of supplies, basic goods and humanitarian aid.
The Mokha port was subjected days earlier to a large-scale attack involving missiles and drones, which, according to the Yemeni army, left people dead and wounded and damaged civilian and service facilities.
The Mokha port is located on the western coast of Taiz province, near the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea, and close to the international shipping route linking the Indian Ocean, the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea.
