Yemen: 30 killed in strikes on market and mutual accusations between Houthis and government

The Houthi-run health ministry announced that 30 people were killed and 8 others injured in strikes on a popular market in Taiz governorate, southwestern Yemen, and accused the Saudi air force of carrying them out. In response, the Aden government held the Houthis responsible and denied that any other parties conducted air operations in the area.

The Houthi-run health ministry, in a statement carried by the Saba news agency, announced that 30 people were killed and 8 others injured in airstrikes targeting the popular al-Hadara market in al-Waz'iyah district of Taiz governorate, southwestern Yemen, on Friday. The statement accused the "Saudi air force" of carrying out three raids on the market, noting that rescue and recovery teams are continuing search and retrieval operations for victims from under the rubble. In response, the Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, confirmed that the attacks were carried out by an aircraft that took off on Friday morning from the Saudi base at Khamis Mushait in southern Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the Aden government, backed by Riyadh, held the Houthis responsible for the strikes and denied that any other parties conducted air operations in the area, describing the attack as a "war crime." This escalation comes after renewed conflict in Yemen in July last year, following a four-year truce, opening a new front in the regional war. Fighting intensified in September with a Houthi offensive that allowed them to seize control of Yemen's entire western coast and the Bab el-Mandeb strait area.