Houthi attacks reportedly kill at least 30 Yemeni government forces

What the report says

At least 30 Yemeni government troops are reported to have been killed in Houthi attacks on military camps in central Yemen, according to BBC World News. The strikes were said to have hit camps run by the Emergency Forces in the al-Ruwaik area of Marib province and the al-Abr area of Hadramawt, using missiles and drones.

The Houthis said they targeted what they described as large Saudi military build-ups, claiming the forces were preparing for an offensive. Yemen’s health minister, Qasim Bahibah, condemned the attack as an attempt to undermine security and stability, though he did not give a casualty figure. The US mission to Yemen also criticised the strikes, calling them an example of Houthi terrorism.

The latest violence comes against the backdrop of Yemen’s long-running civil war, which began in 2014 when the Houthis took the capital, Sanaa, and escalated after a Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year to support the government. The BBC noted that the conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia had been relatively quiet since a 2022 truce, but tensions have risen again in recent weeks.

BBC World News reported that the Houthis have stepped up missile and drone attacks on Saudi-linked targets, including airports, oil facilities and Red Sea shipping, while saying they are responding to a Saudi blockade and other attacks they blame on the kingdom.