Arabic version: سكان باقون في المخا الخاضعة للحوثيين

According to Al Jazeera, thousands of civilians remain in Yemen’s Mocha district weeks after Houthi forces took the Red Sea city from government-loyal forces. Residents cited poverty, family circumstances and fears their homes would be looted as reasons for staying.

Nabil, a daily wage labourer in his 40s living in Yakhtul north of Mocha, said he watched displaced people pass his balcony on September 10 before Houthi forces entered. He and relatives remained. Yemen’s government later declared Mocha and its surroundings a military “kill box”, warning that Houthi movement would face available firepower.

Fuad, a 27-year-old pharmacist, said the government opened the old al-Barh road after the declaration, but some people were prevented from leaving by the Houthis while others stayed because they feared the hardship of displacement. The Houthis have imposed a nighttime curfew, residents said, while food and fuel costs have climbed and electricity cuts have become more frequent.

Schools have largely emptied as families fear shelling and recruitment, residents said. Healthcare has also deteriorated: Doctors Without Borders said nearly all facilities except Mocha General Hospital stopped operating when Houthi forces entered, largely because staff fled. Government officials said aid access has been limited, accusing the Houthis of blocking humanitarian work.

Civilians have been killed in the strike zone. Mahmoud al-Otmi, a journalist with Al-Hadath, said six relatives died when a house in Mocha was bombed before dawn on September 22. Houthi-run media blamed Saudi air strikes, while Saudi Arabia had not commented publicly. A government military official said the kill box targeted Houthi fighters, not civilians.