At least 27 people have been killed and another 36 injured in airstrikes in the Al-Sharia area, east of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, Anis al-Asbahi, a spokesperson for the health ministry in the Houthi-run administration, said. According to him, the strikes were carried out in the Bani Hushaysh area, about 15 kilometers northeast of Sanaa.
Al-Asbahi accused Saudi Arabia and the coalition it leads of carrying out the attack. “The victims include 27 dead and 36 injured. Most of them are women, children and civil defense workers,” he wrote on the social media platform X.
The spokesperson also said that rescue teams had been attacked while trying to pull people from the destroyed buildings and provide first aid. He warned that the death toll could rise because search and rescue operations are still ongoing.
New escalation of the conflict
The strikes came a day after an attack on a market in southern Yemen, in which at least 30 people were reportedly killed, according to the Houthis. The Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni forces traded accusations over the attack.
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said that the movement had carried out attacks against Saudi Arabia in response to the strikes near Sanaa and the attack on the market. Claims about the retaliatory actions have also not been independently confirmed.
The Houthis control Sanaa and large parts of northern and western Yemen. Saudi Arabia supports the country’s internationally recognized government and leads a military coalition that has been carrying out airstrikes on the movement’s positions for years. The conflict began in 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital, while the 2022 truce collapsed amid a new offensive and intensified mutual attacks.
Sources: apnews.com, infobae.com, amp.dw.com