Explosion hits Houthi missile base used in attack on Aden airport
An explosion has hit a Houthi missile base in Thamar province, western Yemen.
The blast occurred yesterday and caused civilian casualties and damaged houses, a witness said.
Ambulances rushed between the site and the public hospital in Thamar city “many times”, the witness said.
The province is about 100 kilometres south of the capital, Sanaa.
“The explosion occurred at a military base in the residential area of Al Najda, causing a large blaze with a plume of dark smoke over the residential area,” the witness said.
Iran-backed rebels have used the site in southern Thamar as a missile base for years.
A report published in February by the investigative group Bellingcat found the Houthis used the base to launch ballistic missiles at the airport in Aden when members of the internationally recognised government arrived there last December.
At least 25 people were killed in the attack.
“Using the intersection method, it was possible to identify the vicinity from which these missiles were launched,” Bellingcat said.
“This location is marked as a police training centre on Google Maps, which is consistent with multiple social media posts claiming that a missile launch occurred at a police base.”
The explosion was reported as fierce clashes between the rebels and forces loyal to the
government continue in Marib province, the government’s last northern stronghold.
Tribal sources told The National yesterday that fighting has been raging in Al Naja area of Al Jubah district, southern Marib.
“We launched a large-scale offensive against the Houthi militias in the southern outskirts of Al Jubah,” said Mohammed Al Qardaie, a tribal leader in the province.
His forces regained control of important areas of the district during the attack and dozens of Houthi fighters were killed, he said.
Hundreds of rebels, visible in the treeless terrain around Marib city, have been killed in air strikes carried out by Saudi-led coalition forces in recent weeks, the kingdom’s air force said.
Fighting has intensified in
the southern part of the province and thousands of civilians remain in the rugged terrain of the oil-rich province.
International aid agencies such as the UN children’s fund and the International Committee of the Red Cross have given a warning that the area is at risk of famine.
“The ICRC remains deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Marib,” Basheer Omar, the ICRC’s spokesman in Yemen, told The National.
“We continue to urge those involved in the hostilities to facilitate the evacuation of
the sick and wounded, create conditions for humanitarian aid to reach those in need and protect civilians from harm.”
The ICRC has successfully delivered emergency aid to medical centres across Marib, he said.
“Last Sunday, Marib Military Hospital was resupplied with surgical materials, and on the same day, we sent a lorry with medical supplies to Al Abdiyah,” Mr Omar said.
The Houthis took a foothold in Al Abdiyah, south of Marib city, this month, causing an acute humanitarian crisis, security forces said.
Hundreds of Houthis, visible in the treeless terrain around Marib city, have been killed in air strikes in recent weeks