Yemen: Saudi-led strikes in Sanaa kill at least 27

In reaction to this new series of attacks, Houthi fighters claimed strikes against oil and military sites in Saudi Arabia, as well as against the Riyadh airport.

Fighting has intensified in recent days on Yemeni soil, after a four-year lull. The conflict resumed in July, opening a new front in the Middle East war.

According to the Saba news agency, the Houthi Ministry of Health specified that six houses in the village of al-Shariya, east of Sanaa, had been targeted by planes from the military coalition led by Riyadh.

The death toll stands at 27, mainly women and children, and 36 injured. Initially, Saba reported 22 dead and 30 injured.

The Almasirah channel, linked to the Houthis, broadcast images showing smoke, rubble and injured people hospitalized.

Saudi authorities have not reacted to this information.

A bombing on a market in the Taëz governorate (west) killed at least 30 people on Friday. Government forces and the Houthis accuse each other of this attack.

In retaliation, the Houthis claimed to have launched missile and drone attacks against Saudi military positions and the Riyadh airport, which had been closed in mid-October following a deadly strike. They also targeted Aramco-owned oil installations, said Yahya Saree, military spokesman for the Houthis, on X.

The coalition led by Riyadh announced the interception and destruction of a cruise missile targeting the Saudi capital.

The conflict in Yemen began in 2014 when the Houthis took control of Sanaa, triggering a Saudi military intervention in 2015. A truce was concluded in 2022, but fighting has resumed this summer.

This conflict has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and has plunged the country, one of the poorest in the world, into a major humanitarian crisis.

Since October, Saudi forces have been regularly bombing Houthi positions, while pro-Iranian fighters have multiplied their attacks against Saudi oil infrastructure and airports.

In September, a Houthi offensive on the Yemeni coast of the Red Sea allowed them to strengthen their grip on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic transit point for maritime traffic between Europe and Asia. They have established a blockade in the Red Sea against the Saudi fleet, the world’s leading exporter of crude oil. According to the Wall Street Journal, ships wishing to use this route must now contact the Houthis to obtain their authorization.