Symbolic imageSaudi-led coalition downs Houthi missile as UN warns of access crisis in Taiz
The Saudi-led coalition says it destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile fired toward the kingdom's eastern region on Thursday. The UN says fighting has displaced more than 281,000 people in Yemen since August.
Saudi Civil Defense issued alerts for Najran and the Eastern Province early on Thursday, 29 October, then declared the danger over minutes later. On Saturday it had said it intercepted two Houthi missiles aimed at the Mecca and Medina regions, with debris falling on Jeddah, Taif and Rabigh. The Houthis claimed that day to have hit an Aramco facility in Yanbu, the Rabigh refinery and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Fighting also surged on several fronts south of Taiz, where the Houthis advanced on Jabal Sabr on Sunday. Government spokesman Majid al-Nazili told Al Jazeera that government forces carried out 749 operations in 24 hours, killing or injuring 239 militants.
Aid access to Taiz shrinks
The UN humanitarian office OCHA warned that "time is running out" to reach the 800,000 people trapped in Taiz. A damaged road to the southern governorates has forced aid onto narrow mountain routes for three weeks, and OCHA urged all parties to allow safe, unimpeded access.
Air strikes and Aden airport
Houthi-affiliated media reported four air strikes on Mocha, and the Houthis said more than 100 strikes hit Sanaa and eight other governorates in 24 hours. Flights resumed at Aden airport, Anadolu reported, after a suspension on Wednesday when witnesses said a missile landed at the adjacent Al-Nasr Camp.