The people of Mokha described the reopening of fish restaurants and the end of electricity outages as predictors of happiness and the return to a normal life in the recently liberated historic port city on the Red Sea cost of Yemen.
In a visit to the city, where legitimacy forces regained control a few months ago, Yemen's Prime Minister Ahmed Bin Daghr promised to return Mokha to a normal life and improve its services. The visit is considered the first of its kind since the liberation of the city from the grip on Houthi insuregen
He also toured the headquarters of the Arab Coalition’s administrative base in the southwest Yemeni city from where he called for more coordination between the leaders of the National Army, the Popular Resistance and the Coalition forces to advance on all areas still under Houthi’s control. While Daghr toured the city on Sunday, the very high temperature did not prevent the young Yemeni Hamdi Ibrahim from arriving early to his work at a popular restaurant in downtown.
Ibrahim said the fish restaurant is once again packed with customers, a sign that life has returned to normal in the city, which was world famous for the production of a mocha variety of coffee beans. “Since the liberation of Mokha, the port city witnessed the reestablishment of electricity supplies 24 hours a day, with the presence of a surplus,” said Haidara Mahyoub, another man in his thirties.
The popular markets of Mokha also saw renewed trade, despite a slight rise in the prices of fish, bread and vegetables. However, those high prices were still better than those of goods in Yemen’s temporary capital of Aden.
On the other hand, Thousands of Yemeni troops are conducting a clearing operation aimed at driving Qaeda militants from one of their major strongholds in southern Yemen, according to Arab and American security officials.
The offensive in Shabwa Province started last week and includes about 2,000 Yemeni forces backed by dozens of advisers from the United Arab Emirates, and a handful of United States Special Operations commandos providing intelligence and planning assistance, American officials said.
It is the largest military operation against Qaeda fighters in Yemen since Yemeni troops in armored vehicles and backed by airstrikes seized this major port city in April 2016, after the militants had used it as a base from which to storm through the southern part of the country.
The continuing operation is the latest phase of an increased campaign against the Yemeni militants since President Trump took office. It also reflects Mr. Trump’s general embrace of President Barack Obama’s strategy to aid local allies fighting insurgents in hot spots like Yemen, Somalia and Nigeria, rather than dispatch large numbers of American troops.
Yemen poses a singular challenge for the West and has captured Mr. Trump’s attention from his first days in office. A member of the Navy’s elite SEAL Team 6 was killed in a ground raid in Yemen in January in the first such operation Mr. Trump authorized. Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch is widely considered the militant group’s most dangerous worldwide affiliate, with a particular focus on blowing up commercial airliners.