Houthi attacks on Yemeni military camps result in significant casualties
Attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels Thursday in central and eastern Yemen killed at least 30 government troops and wounded more than 50 others, Yemeni government officials said, reports BritPanorama.
The assaults targeted camps for forces of the internationally recognized government in the provinces of Marib and Hadramout, according to the officials, who requested anonymity as they were not authorized to address the media.
These attacks represent a significant escalation in hostilities since a de facto truce in Yemen in April 2022, which had largely halted major fighting between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition supporting the government.
Yemen’s army issued a statement indicating that the Houthi attacks on its camps had left a number of soldiers dead and wounded, but did not disclose specific casualty figures.
Houthi Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree stated that the assaults were executed using ballistic missiles and drones in retaliation for the build-up of Saudi-backed forces in eastern Yemen.
He claimed that the strikes resulted in hundreds of “Saudi enemy mercenaries” being killed or injured, along with the destruction of military camps, depots, vehicles, and weapons.
“We call upon all our people to remain vigilant and confront any Saudi aggression,” Saree said, urging his forces to target Saudi troop concentrations wherever they are located.
The U.S. mission to Yemen expressed condolences to the families of the Yemeni soldiers killed in Hadramout and Marib, describing the Houthi actions as “yet another example of their terrorism against the Yemeni people” in a statement on X.
Yemen has been mired in a civil war since 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized government into exile in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition intervened shortly after, attempting to restore the government, but the conflict has devolved into a stalemated proxy conflict with no clear victor.
The Houthis assert that their recent escalation, including a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, is a direct response to the Kingdom’s ongoing air and sea blockade on Yemen, which has been in effect since 2015.
