Sanaa: Yemens Iran-backed Houthis killed dozens of Saudi-supported government troops in missile and drone attacks Thursday, medical sources said, as the countrys conflict becomes the latest front in the US-Iran war. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebels attacked government positions with ballistic missiles and drones in response to an alleged military buildup backed by neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
According to France24.com, the attacks resulted in the death of at least 38 government troops and injured 29 others, as reported by two medical sources. A military official described the attacks as the deadliest confrontation between the two sides since 2022. The defence ministry of Yemen's internationally recognised government stated that its armed forces would respond to the missile and drone attacks "at the appropriate place and time." The Houthi attacks risk pushing Yemen into a more intense cycle of violence and retaliation.
The rebels have escalated their provocations against Saudi forces since last month, further complicating the regional situation since the US-Iran war erupted on February 28. A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that a military camp in the al-Ruwaik area of Marib province in central Yemen had been attacked, along with camps in the Al-Abr and Al-Wadiah areas of Hadramawt, near the Saudi border. One missile attack struck troops during their morning formation at the Marib camp, resulting in "killing and wounding at least 45 personnel," according to a military source who declined to be named for security reasons.
Yemen, embroiled in over a decade of war, became entangled in the Middle East conflict last month as the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels disrupted a 2022 truce with the Saudi-backed government. The rebels welcomed an Iranian plane directly in the capital Sanaa, leading to tit-for-tat attacks. Subsequently, they announced a maritime blockade of Saudi ports and began targeting its tankers. Last month, the Houthis killed 16 troops in an attack on government-aligned forces south of the port city of Hodeidah, as reported by two medical officials.
The Houthis have been at war with the government since 2014, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and triggering a major humanitarian crisis in Yemen. The rebels control Yemen's capital Sanaa and much of the populous north, while the government maintains control of much of the south. The fighting had largely been frozen since a UN-negotiated truce in 2022 that had held despite expiring.