Houthis fire missiles at government forces, killing at least 30 people
Houthis launch rocket attacks on government forces, killing at least 30
At least 30 government soldiers were killed and 15 wounded when Houthi rebels in Yemen launched rocket attacks on military camps in Hadramawt and Marib provinces, government sources told Al Jazeera.
The attacks, which took place on August 6, including on camps run by the Yemeni Emergency Forces, were the deadliest clashes in the civil war in years. They are a continuation of the violence that has escalated in recent weeks. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sari said hundreds of people had been killed in rocket and drone attacks.
The Yemeni military confirmed the attacks and described them as a response to military operations against the Houthis. Yemeni military sources said the Houthis launched eight rockets from the Al-Jawf province, north of Marib. The strikes hit the areas of Al-Thiniya and Al-Abr in Hadramawt and Ar-Ruk in Marib. Sources say the death toll could rise.
After four years of relative calm, fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces has intensified in recent weeks. The Houthis have also imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia and have attacked ships linked to Yemen's northern neighbor.
The latest war in Yemen began in 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015, but it has failed to completely defeat the Houthis.
**Surge in attacks**
Sari said Thursday's attack came after Saudi-backed government forces "massed military power to escalate the conflict."
Both the Houthis and the government have mobilized forces in recent weeks. Clashes have broken out in western and central Yemen. Tensions have escalated since an Iranian plane was prevented from landing at Sanaa airport a month ago.
On July 13, the Yemeni government said it had struck Sanaa airport to prevent another Iranian plane from landing. The Houthis responded by attacking Saudi Arabia's Abha airport. Riyadh said the attack had been repelled.
The Houthis then declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia on July 20 and began attacking Saudi-affiliated ships in the Red Sea in the following days. The attacks on one of the world's busiest sea lanes come as a US-Iran war has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, disrupting oil and energy exports.
The Saudi-led coalition has since launched airstrikes on Houthi targets in western Yemen, its first such operation since 2022. The Houthis see the naval blockade of Riyadh as a response to a "Saudi blockade" of territory they control across Yemen.