Houthi attacks on Marib leave two dead, 14 wounded
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis launched ballistic missiles and drones at displacement camps and residential neighborhoods in the city of Marib on Friday, killing two people and wounding 14 others, reports BritPanorama.
The Houthis claimed to have targeted Saudi-backed forces, depots, vehicles, and military equipment at the Sahn al-Jinn camp in the city. These assertions remain unverified by independent sources.
This latest round of violence follows the death of at least 30 Yemeni government troops due to strikes on military camps in Marib and Hadramawt provinces, marking one of the most severe escalations in recent months, according to government sources.
The Houthis had also claimed responsibility for the previous day’s attacks, which they stated were directed at Saudi military deployments in the two provinces, citing a buildup of Saudi forces as a precursor to an escalation against their territory.
U.N. Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg expressed concern over the heightened hostilities, noting that the recent attacks, coupled with renewed assaults on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, pose a significant threat of a large-scale conflict in Yemen, reminiscent of the period before the U.N.-brokered truce in April 2022.
He urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint and partake in U.N.-led negotiations, warning that the ongoing violence risks dragging Yemen into a broader regional confrontation.
In a show of defiance, the Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea last month, citing what they described as a Saudi siege of Yemen, a claim that Riyadh has denied.
Saudi Arabia has been leading a military coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government since 2015, following the Houthi seizure of the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. This prolonged conflict has wrought devastation across Yemen, resulting in one of the worst humanitarian crises globally.
