Yemeni government forces launched attacks on Houthi positions across multiple front lines on Saturday, hours after the Houthis renewed shelling of Marib city with missiles and drones, according to Yemeni officials and a military spokesman.
The government said the operation targeted Houthi capabilities and forces along the line of contact to protect civilians. The escalation has raised fears that Yemen’s years of relative calm could give way to wider conflict.
At a glance:
- Houthi missile and drone attacks on Hadramout and Marib killed at least 30 government soldiers and wounded 15 others on Thursday.
- An attack on Marib on Friday killed two civilians and wounded 14, according to Yemen’s Health Ministry.
- Marib hosts more than 2 million of Yemen’s nearly 5 million displaced people.
- The United Nations has called for de-escalation and condemned Houthi missile attacks and continued strikes on oil tankers in the Red Sea.
What happened in Marib
Deputy Information Minister Mohammed Gezan said the Houthis had resumed shelling civilian neighbourhoods in Marib city on Saturday. The renewed shelling followed an attack on Friday that killed two civilians and wounded 14, Yemen’s Health Ministry said.
Related coverage: Yemen faces renewed war threat after Houthi attacks.
The Houthis said they were targeting a military camp on the city’s outskirts. The Yemeni army said it repelled a separate attack on Friday evening without casualties. Marib is hosting more than 2 million displaced people, out of Yemen’s nearly 5 million displaced population.
Why the escalation matters
The military spokesman said Saturday’s attacks struck Houthi positions along multiple axes and the line of contact. He described the operation as necessary to protect unarmed civilians, while Al Jazeera reported that it was the first government-announced counteroffensive in months.
Analyst Elisabeth Kendall, president of Girton College at Cambridge, said the escalation carried a looming possibility of tipping Yemen back into full-scale conflict. She said the 2022 truce had expired and cited troop movements and clashes as warning signs, while noting that government forces are now more unified than in previous years.
More context: Houthi attacks deepen Yemen-Saudi Arabia tensions.
Competing claims and calls for restraint
Al Jazeera correspondent Yousef Mawry said the government was presenting the counteroffensive as retaliation for what it described as a Houthi shift towards pre-emptive strikes on army positions in Marib and Hadramout. The Houthis claim they are acting on suspicions that government forces are coordinating with Saudi Arabia on a broader offensive against Houthi-held territory.
The United Nations has called for de-escalation, condemning both the Houthi missile attacks and the group’s continued strikes on oil tankers in the Red Sea. Kendall said Saudi intervention could work in the government’s favour if it occurred decisively, but the source does not report that such intervention has taken place.
Also read: US and Saudi forces respond to Iranian missile barrage with strikes on Iraq targets.
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