When waves of Yemeni government forces started to flee the front lines near al-Khokha, a Red Sea town between Hodeidah and Mocha, two of Saeed Hassan’s sons rushed to alert their father about the unusual troop movements.
asserted
two → start → movements
“I told them that it could be a tactical withdrawal and that there was nothing to worry about,” Saeed, 58, told Al Jazeera at a flat in Yemen’s southern city of Mukalla, where he and several related families have taken refuge.
uncertain
he → tell → refuge
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asserted
station → compromise → Houthis
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By that evening of September 9, his sons returned and confirmed that large numbers of soldiers were withdrawing from their positions.
asserted
numbers → hold → positions
Saeed decided to leave his house and see for himself.
asserted
Saeed → decide → himself
“I was shocked by the huge number of soldiers and military equipment that was withdrawing,” he said.
asserted
he → shock → soldiers
By the evening, Saeed decided to flee his home, but first he had to persuade his brother Mohammed and his family to join him.
asserted
he → decide → him
“I only believed them when they went out, filmed the withdrawal and showed me the video,” Mohammed, 47, told Al Jazeera.
asserted
Mohammed → believe → Jazeera
About the same time, a missile hit a nearby camp for displaced people, wounding several.
asserted
missile → hit → several
Mohammed’s son Shaker went to see what had happened and narrowly escaped death when another explosion hit the area.
“He saw a wounded man whose leg had been severed,” Mohammed said.
asserted
Mohammed → go → man
A week earlier, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis had launched one of their largest military offensives against forces loyal to the Saudi-backed Yemeni government in the western governorates of Hodeidah and Taiz.
asserted
Houthis → back → Hodeidah
The Houthis heavily shelled government-held areas before their fighters advanced.
asserted
fighters → shell → areas
On September 9, government forces withdrew from Mocha, the main base of the government’s National Resistance Forces, allowing the Houthis to seize the coastal city and other areas, including al-Khokha.
asserted
Houthis → withdraw → Khokha
The following day, the Houthis completed their offensive on Yemen’s Red Sea coast, essentially taking control of the Bab al-Mandeb strait.
asserted
Houthis → complete → strait
Fearing that the Houthis were about to arrive in their town, Saeed’s and Mohammed’s families fled al-Khokha as fast as they could.
uncertain
they → fear → Khokha
It had become their home after they were displaced from the countryside near the port of Hodeidah in 2018.
asserted
they → become → 2018
Hodeidah has been a key target of both sides in Yemen’s war since Houthi forces captured the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014, forcing Yemeni government forces to flee south.
asserted
forces → capture → forces
For Saeed’s and Mohammed’s families, it meant another journey out of a warzone.
asserted
it → mean → warzone
“We just took the things that we could carry,” Saeed said about his second displacement.
uncertain
Saeed → take → displacement
Mohammed and his wife made a living trading clothes, but they could not carry the piles of merchandise stored at their home.
uncertain
they → make → home
They took only their documents, some personal clothing and a few other light belongings.
asserted
They → take → documents
The brothers planned to spend the night in neighbouring Mocha before returning to their village the following day to collect the rest of their belongings.
asserted
brothers → plan → belongings
But the speed of the Houthi advance forced them to move as soon as possible.
asserted
speed → force → them
“I told her, ‘Let’s take whatever luggage we can, and we’ll come back for the rest tomorrow,’” Mohammed said.
asserted
Mohammed → tell → rest
Saeed loaded luggage into his small pick-up truck and left with his wife, his two sons and their wives, his daughter and her baby.
asserted
Saeed → load → wife
Mohammed travelled in another pick-up with his wife, a relative and their luggage.
asserted
Mohammed → travel → wife
He later picked up three men who appeared to be fleeing soldiers.
asserted
who → pick → soldiers
The families departed about 9:30pm.
asserted
families → depart → ?
Shortly after they left, they were told locals had dismantled their homes, built from corrugated metal sheets and tarpaulin, which were stolen along with their belongings.
asserted
which → leave → belongings
On the road, Saeed saw soldiers abandoning their weapons as explosions and gunfire erupted around them.
asserted
explosions → see → them
“I saw soldiers leaving behind brand-new cannon that had not even fired a single shot,” he said.
asserted
he → see → shot
The families had fled their homes without any water, expecting to find some along the way.
asserted
families → flee → way
But grocery stores were empty, and a while later, the situation got worse when a tyre on Mohammed’s truck blew out.
asserted
tyre → get → truck
His brother couldn’t wait and continued towards Mocha without him.
asserted
brother → wait → him
“The car was about to flip over, and we could have died.
uncertain
we → flip → ?
I replaced the damaged tyre with another one that was already crumbling,” he said.
asserted
he → replace → one
“The explosions were intensifying, and the three people with me kept asking me to hurry, fearing that the Houthis would catch up with us.
asserted
Houthis → intensify → us
Saeed arrived in Mocha about midnight, only to find the city abandoned.
asserted
city → arrive → Mocha
Vehicle after vehicle carrying retreating soldiers from the battlefields drove by, bypassing Mocha and heading straight for Aden, a port city on the Gulf of Aden.
asserted
Vehicle → carry → Aden
Saeed decided to follow them, but along the way, he and his family witnessed harrowing scenes.
asserted
he → decide → scenes
…and 60 more, not listed.
The Aporia
