Yemen: Houthis kill dozens of soldiers with missile attack

Armed Houthi fighters last October

The civil war in Yemen continues to escalate: In a rocket attack, the Iranian-backed Houthi militia killed dozens of soldiers of the internationally recognized government.

According to the dpa news agency, more than 30 soldiers were killed or injured. The AFP news agency reports at least 50 dead. More than a hundred people were also injured, said a government official, according to AFP. Several of the injured are therefore in danger.

An army spokesman said the Houthis attacked a training camp for police and security forces in the southern province of Shabva with three missiles. The Houthi militia claimed responsibility for the attack and said the attack involved Saudi forces in the area.

The hospitals in Shabwa are overwhelmed by the many injured, so a government representative, according to AFP. For this reason, particularly serious cases were brought to Aden, where the internationally recognized government is based.

“The attacks will not stop the state from protecting citizens and restoring state institutions,” Raschad al-Alimi, chairman of the presidential leadership council, told Saba news agency. There are videos circulating on social media to show scenes after the attack. There are numerous bodies in it.

The civil war in Yemen has reignited in the wake of the Iran war. Iran-backed Houthi militia took large parts of the Red Sea west coast in an offensive and advanced to other provinces. The government, with the help of allied militias and Saudi Arabia, is trying to push back the rebels. The Houthi militia also attacked the important port city of Aden in the south, as well as targets in Saudi Arabia, where people were killed and injured at Riyadh airport, among others.

With attacks on Saudi Arabia, the Islamist Houthi militia has provoked a new war. Voices from Sanaa explain why the force would rather sacrifice human lives than negotiate. Read more about this here.