Closure of al-Makha port leaves workers and traders fearing for the future

Taiz, Yemen – Mohammed Al-Homaidi, a labourer in his 30s, has been working at the al-Makha (Mocha) port in western Yemen since its reopening in 2021.Even though he was reliant on a daily wage, his earnings provided a decent standard of living for his family.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Yemen’s Houthis launch ballistic missile attacks on al-Makha and Mariblist 2 of 4Yemen’s government forces attack Houthis amid renewed shelling of Mariblist 3 of 4Houthi attacks kill seven in Yemen, refinery targeted in Saudi Arabialist 4 of 4New Houthi missile and drone attacks kill seven in Yemen’s al-Makhaend of listBut things changed on August 9, when the Red Sea port was targeted by Houthi attacks that killed at least seven people.With the conflict between the Yemeni government and Houthi forces escalating after a long-standing truce collapsed last month, finding daily work was no longer his priority, but his safety.“It was around 12:30pm when the explosions [were heard] at the seaport, which was full of workers at the time. I couldn’t understand what was happening, and we couldn’t flee because the explosions were continuous,” Al-Homaidi told Al Jazeera. “After about an hour and...