Inside the ‘kill box’: The Yemenis who stayed behind in Houthi-held Mocha

After Houthi forces took control of Mocha in September 2026, many civilians remain in the city or nearby areas, including Nabil, a daily wage laborer living in Yakhtul. The Houthis have controlled much of northern Yemen since 2014, and Mocha, with a population of 62,500 according to the 2004 census, has been declared a military zone. Some residents have been recruited or forced to demonstrate support for the Houthis, but many, like Nabil, refuse to leave, viewing their situation as humiliation and homelessness.