Houthi rebels have launched coordinated ballistic missile and drone attacks on multiple military camps in central Yemen, killing at least 30 government troops according to Yemen’s defence ministry, with separate sources suggesting the toll could be significantly higher.
The strikes hit camps in the provinces of Marib and Hadramawt on Thursday morning, targeting positions in the al-Ruwaik, al-Abr and al-Wadiah areas near the Saudi Arabian border. A military official told AFP that the attacks were launched at around 10:40 local time. AFP later cited military sources putting the death toll at 58, while pro-government and anti-Houthi media outlets reported more than 40 killed. Yemen’s defence ministry did not release a confirmed figure, describing the attacks as “treacherous” and vowing to “respond to this aggression at an appropriate time and place.”
Houthi military spokesman Yahia Sarea claimed the strikes caused the death and injury of “hundreds of Saudi enemy mercenaries” and destroyed large quantities of buildings, weapons and military vehicles. He said the Houthis had detected what they described as Saudi military build-ups in their final stages, aimed at launching an offensive against Houthi-controlled territory.
In a separate incident, the Saudi-led coalition reported that eleven civilians were wounded in the Saudi border region of Najran following a Houthi strike. Among the wounded were seven Saudi nationals, including a woman and a four-year-old child who both suffered second-degree burns. The remaining four casualties were from Yemen, Pakistan and Egypt.
The United States mission to Yemen condemned the attacks as “cowardly,” while the United Nations called on all parties to exercise restraint. Deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq warned that renewed fighting risked reversing what he described as “hard-won gains” toward reducing violence in recent years.
The broader context is deteriorating rapidly. The Houthis announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on July 20, launching missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and Red Sea tankers in retaliation for what they described as a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in their territory. Saudi Arabia has responded with strikes on Houthi positions and by establishing a new naval coalition to protect shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Representatives from 43 countries attended the coalition’s founding meeting on Thursday.
Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 and has left more than 150,000 people dead. Over 22 million people currently require some form of humanitarian assistance. A UN-brokered ceasefire had largely held since 2022. That hold is now visibly breaking.
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