Houthis strike Marib again as UN warns Yemen nearing wider conflict

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, according to state news agency SABA. Yemen's army announced early Saturday that it had retaliated against Houthi forces on multiple fronts along contact lines, warning of necessary military measures against any further targeting of its units.

The exchanges represent a significant escalation between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government's forces. Large-scale fighting had largely subsided in recent years, but these attacks raise fears of a return to a broader conflict. The situation is particularly concerning as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran expands across the region.

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Yemen's army said early on Saturday it had responded against Houthi forces on several fronts along the lines of contact.

A senior Saudi official stated Thursday that Riyadh anticipates coordinated attacks from Yemen's Houthis and Iraqi militias, allegedly under Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps supervision. Iran and its allies have not yet responded to this claim. The Houthis claimed responsibility for targeting Yemen's Sahn al-Jinn camp with missiles and drones, stating they struck Saudi-backed forces and military equipment.

These attacks follow a deadly escalation on Thursday, where at least 30 Yemeni government troops were killed in strikes on military camps in Marib and Hadramawt provinces. The Houthis also claimed responsibility for those attacks, citing a large Saudi military buildup as justification. UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg warned Friday that the recent attacks, combined with renewed assaults on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, have placed Yemen at its greatest risk of large-scale conflict since the UN-brokered truce in April 2022. He urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint.

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the latest attacks in Marib and Hadramawt, together with renewed attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, had left Yemen at its greatest risk of renewed large-scale conflict since the UN-brokered truce in April 2022.