117 journalists displaced from Yemen’s western coast amid escalation: Report

At least 117 journalists and media workers have been displaced from Yemen's western coastal city of Mokha and surrounding areas amid a military escalation since the beginning of September, the Yemeni Media Freedoms Observatory said Wednesday.

The nongovernmental organization said in a statement that the journalists and media workers fled Mokha, in southwestern Taiz province, and nearby areas amid recent military developments and the entry of Houthi forces.

It said the displacement was sudden, with several journalists leaving their homes in the hours before Houthi forces entered Mokha, amid fears of arrest or detention because of their journalistic work.

Some journalists were forced to leave without taking their personal belongings or professional equipment, it added.

The observatory quoted journalists who fled Mokha as saying that “Houthi forces raided the homes of journalists and looted their belongings.”

Others said they left in haste and were able to take only a limited portion of their belongings and equipment.

The group also reported the death of journalist Zakaria Dahman, a staffer at at Al-Jumhuriya TV, owned by Presidential Leadership Council member Tareq Saleh, in the southern port city of Aden after his health deteriorated during the fighting and displacement from Mokha to Aden, according to his colleagues.

Information blockade from conflict-hit area

The organization said the departure of journalists and correspondents from Mokha had “reduced access to independent, firsthand information from inside the city, making it more difficult to verify developments on the ground and provide information to the public.”

It called on international and local organizations, donors and press freedom partners to “urgently support displaced journalists, including through temporary financial assistance, housing, psychological support, professional assistance and the equipment needed to continue their work safely.”

The western coastal areas of Yemen have witnessed a major escalation in recent days, coinciding with advances by Houthi forces and their reported capture of positions and areas previously held by government forces. The developments have reshaped the control map along parts of Yemen’s Red Sea coast near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Meanwhile, Yemeni government forces have announced advances in the northern Al-Jawf province bordering Saudi Arabia. They have also said they were approaching Al-Hazm, the provincial capital.

Government forces have also announced airstrikes on Houthi targets in and around Mocha and in parts of Taiz, Lahej and Al-Dhalea provinces, saying they destroyed military vehicles and weapons and repelled a major attack on Marib.

Fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Houthis has intensified since early July 2026 after years of relative calm.

Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several provinces in September 2014, prompting a Saudi-led Arab coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.