Houthi strikes in Yemen’s Marib and Mokha leave dozens dead or wounded

Yemen’s Houthi movement announced on Tuesday that it had carried out large-scale strikes using ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles against military installations in the central governorate of Marib and the Red Sea coastal city of Mokha. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree confirmed that the operation hit arms depots, troop deployments, and command facilities belonging to forces associated with Saudi Arabia, asserting that the attacks inflicted “dozens killed and injured,” with Saudi nationals reportedly among the casualties. The claim was broadcast via the group’s official Saba news agency, though Riyadh has yet to issue an official response.

Riyadh silent as coalition-linked forces confirm attacks

Saudi Arabia has consistently maintained that it does not maintain an active military footprint inside Yemen, stating that its involvement is confined to supporting local factions aligned with the internationally recognised government and securing its own borders. Nevertheless, Tuesday’s assault underscores the persistent entanglement of regional powers in Yemen’s protracted strife. Earlier in the day, Yemen’s National Resistance Forces, which operate alongside the recognised administration, reported that the Houthis had fired ten rockets and four drones at locations along the western coastline since morning, adding that their air defence units managed to intercept and destroy one explosive-laden UAV.

Truce fraying after years of relative calm

Yemen has experienced a noticeable reduction in large-scale combat since a UN-brokered truce took effect in April 2022, following nearly twelve years of devastating war that began when the Houthis overran the capital Sanaa and vast swathes of the country in 2014. The Saudi-led coalition intervened months later to restore the ousted government, transforming Yemen into a proxy battleground between Riyadh and Tehran. While the cessation of hostilities had offered a glimmer of hope for relief, the latest barrage signals that the underlying fault lines remain dangerously active.

Regional spillover from Gaza conflict reignites fears

Since late 2023, the Houthis have widened their operational theatre beyond Yemen’s borders, launching drone and missile attacks on Israeli territory and disrupting commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians amid the Gaza war. This maritime campaign has drawn retaliatory strikes from US and British forces, further destabilising one of the world’s busiest trade routes. The renewal of heavy bombardment inside Yemen, particularly in strategic areas like Marib—home to key oil fields—and Mokha, a vital port on the Bab el-Mandeb strait, has alarmed international observers who warn that the country could slide back into full-blown warfare, undoing years of fragile diplomatic efforts.