Yemeni government condemns Houthi strike on Marib as violation of humanitarian law
At least two civilians were killed and 14 injured in the attack on the government-held city, which hosts Yemen’s largest population of displaced families.
The internationally recognised Yemeni government has condemned a Houthi strike on the city of Marib that left at least two civilians dead and 14 injured. Health Minister Qassem Bahaibah described the casualty figures as preliminary and instructed all health facilities to raise their alert and preparedness levels in response to the incident.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Public Health and Population, the government denounced the attack in the strongest terms. Bahaibah, who referred to the Iran-aligned Houthis as a terrorist militia, accused the group of deliberately targeting safe residential neighbourhoods and camps for displaced people. The ministry stated that such actions constitute a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and called for an urgent stance from the international community to protect civilians.
Marib is currently home to the largest number of displaced families in Yemen, according to the United Nations refugee agency. The attack occurred on Friday, following a Houthi assault the previous day that killed at least 30 government soldiers in the Hadramout and Marib provinces. Earlier on Friday, the Yemeni Defence Ministry reported that its forces had shot down several Houthi drones over Marib.
The Houthis have not immediately commented on the government’s allegations or the strike. Intermittent fighting has persisted on several front lines across Yemen since early July, resulting in dozens of casualties on both sides. The Iran-backed group seized control of the capital, Sanaa, in 2014 and has been engaged in conflict with the Saudi-backed government based in Aden.
Regional tensions have also escalated, with Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia increasing in recent weeks following heightened tensions triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran. On Thursday, a separate Houthi attack on the Saudi city of Najran injured 11 people, including a four-year-old child. Concurrently, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Pakistan signed a joint defence pact on Friday, stipulating that an attack on any one nation would be treated as an attack on all three.
