Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces staged a lightning advance on Monday (October 5) to retake the coast around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait up to the city of Mocha, the government said, pushing the Iran-backed Houthis out of most of the areas they seized last month.

A video published by the Southern Giants Brigades on X showed armed fighters riding in military trucks and exchanging gunfire as a convoy advanced along coastal roads near Dhubab in Taiz governorate, passing an airstrip, toll booth and beachside areas that the group said had been recaptured from Houthi forces.

Reuters partially verified the video from the runway, airport control tower, road layout, shape of the mountains and coastline, which matched topography mapping, satellite and archive imagery. Coordinates: 12.856447, 43.493975 for frame 00:45-00:49; 12.881490, 43.506495 for frame 00:52-01:00; 12.850795, 43.482218 for frames 01:03-01:06 and 01:16-01:21; 12.870430, 43.539830 for frames 01:23-01:30. The date could not be independently verified. No older versions were found posted online before October 5.

The Yemeni forces of the internationally recognized government, backed by heavy Saudi air strikes, reached the outskirts of Mocha late on Monday and Houthi fighters were retreating into the highlands, four government sources said. The Defence Ministry said the city had fallen.

The government forces had already taken key positions including an airstrip in the Dhubab district at the mouth of the strait, a vital Red Sea oil route whose seizure by the Houthis last month sent shock waves through energy markets.

Reuters could not independently verify the extent of the government gains. The Houthis, who have controlled many of Yemen's more populous areas including the capital Sanaa since 2014, said the Saudi-backed government's claims were baseless.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

GIVEN AS DHUBAB, TAIZ GOVERNORATE, YEMEN (RELEASED ON OCTOBER 5, 2026) (SOUTHERN GIANTS BRIGADES - Must not obscure logo)

1. VARIOUS OF MILITARY CARS ADVANCING ON ROAD

2. MILITARY CAR ADVANCING

3. MILITARY CARS ADVANCING ON ROAD

4. PERSON SHOOTING GUN FROM TRUCK

5. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SHOOTING

6. PERSON SHOOTING FROM TRUCK / PERSON HIDING BEHIND TRUCK

7. PEOPLE HOLDING GUNS RUNNING

8. PERSON SHOOTING FROM TRUCK

9. TRUCKS DRIVING BY

10. PEOPLE HOLDING GUNS WALKING

11. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SHOOTING FROM TRUCK

12. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE CARRYING GUNS WALKING ON ROAD

13. TRUCK DRIVING BY

NEAR DHUBAB, TAIZ GOVERNORATE, YEMEN (RELEASED ON OCTOBER 5, 2026) (SOUTHERN GIANTS BRIGADES - Must not obscure logo)

14. TRUCK DRIVING BY TOLL BOOTH

15. TOLL BOOTH

GIVEN AS DHUBAB, TAIZ GOVERNORATE, YEMEN (RELEASED ON OCTOBER 5, 2026) (SOUTHERN GIANTS BRIGADES - Must not obscure logo)

16. PERSON INSIDE TRUCK DRIVING BY HOLDING GUN IN THE AIR

NEAR DHUBAB, TAIZ GOVERNORATE, YEMEN (RELEASED ON OCTOBER 5, 2026) (SOUTHERN GIANTS BRIGADES - Must not obscure logo)

17. AIRPORT CONTROL TOWER

18. VARIOUS OF MILITARY TRUCKS DRIVING BY

19. PERSON SHOOTING FROM TRUCK

GIVEN AS DHUBAB, TAIZ GOVERNORATE, YEMEN (RELEASED ON OCTOBER 5, 2026) (SOUTHERN GIANTS BRIGADES - Must not obscure logo)

20. MILITARY TRUCK DRIVING BY

21. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SHOOTING GUNS

NEAR DHUBAB, TAIZ GOVERNORATE, YEMEN (RELEASED ON OCTOBER 5, 2026) (SOUTHERN GIANTS BRIGADES - Must not obscure logo)

22. PERSON SHOOTING GUN

23. MILITARY TRUCK DRIVING BY

GIVEN AS DHUBAB, TAIZ GOVERNORATE, YEMEN (RELEASED ON OCTOBER 5, 2026) (SOUTHERN GIANTS BRIGADES - Must not obscure logo)

24. PEOPLE WALKING AND MILITARY TRUCKS DRIVING BY NEAR BEACH

NEAR DHUBAB, TAIZ GOVERNORATE, YEMEN (RELEASED ON OCTOBER 5, 2026) (SOUTHERN GIANTS BRIGADES - Must not obscure logo)

25. PEOPLE HOLDING GUNS WALKING ON ROAD

26. MILITARY TRUCKS DRIVING BY

GIVEN AS DHUBAB, TAIZ GOVERNORATE, YEMEN (RELEASED ON OCTOBER 5, 2026) (SOUTHERN GIANTS BRIGADES - Must not obscure logo)

27. TRUCK STOPPED IN SAND

28. TRUCK DRIVING ON BEACH

29. PEOPLE HOLDING GUNS IN THE AIR ON TRUCK