Symbolic imageYemen's army counterattacks Houthis as UN warns of wider war
Yemen's army says it struck Houthi positions on several fronts on Saturday, its first announced counteroffensive in months. Houthi shelling of Marib continued.
Military spokesman Col Majed Al Nazili said the strikes hit Houthi sites and capabilities on multiple front lines, to protect unarmed civilians. The army gave no details, warning of what it called necessary military measures if its units are targeted again. Deputy Information Minister Mohammed Gezan said the Houthis had renewed shelling of civilian districts in Marib, which hosts more than 2 million displaced people.
Days of deadly Houthi fire
Houthi missiles and drones killed at least 30 government soldiers and wounded 15 in Marib and Hadramout on Thursday, 6 August, Al Jazeera reported. Strikes a day later on displacement camps and residential areas killed two people and wounded 14, Yemen's Health Ministry said; The National put that toll above 17, citing a Yemeni official. The Houthis said they had targeted a military camp.
UN urges restraint
UN envoy Hans Grundberg said on Friday that Yemen faces a greater risk of large-scale conflict than at any point since the UN-brokered truce of April 2022, and the UN condemned the group's strikes on oil tankers in the Red Sea.
Other opinions
The National amplifies the army's charge that the Houthis serve foreign agendas, while the Reuters-based SCMP account stresses neither side's claims could be verified.