Houthis strike Marib again as UN warns Yemen nearing wider conflict -report

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis launched ballistic missiles and drones at displacement camps and residential neighborhoods in Marib on Friday, killing two and wounding 14, state news agency SABA reported. Yemen's army said it responded on several fronts. The attacks follow a day after at least 30 government troops were killed in strikes on military camps. UN envoy Hans Grundberg warned Yemen faces its greatest risk of renewed large-scale conflict since the 2022 truce.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis launched ballistic missiles and drones at displacement camps and residential neighborhoods in the city of Marib on Friday, killing two people and wounding 14, state news agency SABA reported, citing local authorities. Yemen's army said early on Saturday it had responded against Houthi forces on several fronts along the lines of contact, without giving details of the operations or saying when they took place, but said it would respond to any further targeting of its units with what it called necessary military measures. The exchanges mark a sharp escalation between the Houthis and forces of Yemen's internationally recognized government after years in which large-scale fighting had largely subsided, raising fears of a return to a broader conflict. The attacks came a day after at least 30 Yemeni government troops were killed in strikes on military camps in Marib and Hadramawt provinces, according to government sources, in one of the deadliest escalations in months. The Houthis also claimed responsibility for Thursday's attacks, saying they struck Saudi military deployments after detecting a large Saudi military buildup. UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg said the latest attacks, together with renewed attacks on commercial shipping, had left Yemen at its greatest risk of renewed large-scale conflict since the UN-brokered truce in April 2022. He urged all sides to exercise maximum restraint. The UN Security Council also expressed concern, urging the Houthis to refrain from escalation. The Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia last month in response to what they described as a Saudi siege of Yemen, an allegation Riyadh denies.