29 killed as mosque and school hit in twin Houthi missile strike
Twenty-nine people, including women and children, were killed in a Houthi ballistic missile attack on a mosque and a religious school, Yemen’s Information Minister said yesterday.
The attack happened late on Sunday in the south of Marib province.
“Once again, the Iranian-backed Houthi militia targets residential communities in Al Juba district, south of Marib governorate,” said Moammar Al Eryani.
The minister said two “Iranian-made” ballistic missiles hit a mosque and Dar Al Hadith in the Al Amoud district, about 50km south of the city of Marib.
He described the area as “overcrowded” with “displaced families from outside the district”.
He said all of the victims of the attack were civilians.
The missiles also caused damage to nearby houses, said officials.
There was no immediate comment from the Iranian-backed Houthis, who have attempted for months to take oil-rich Marib to seal their control over the northern half of Yemen.
The latest attack came a day after a car filled with explosives blew up at an intersection near the Aden International Airport, killing at least five people and injuring 40.
Houthi rebels also launched a missile at a house in Al Juba on Thursday, killing 13 people at a tribal leaders’ meeting held there.
Fighting between government forces and Houthis has escalated in recent months.
The UN said about 10,000 people were displaced in September by fighting in Marib, the internationally recognised government’s last northern stronghold.
The government is calling for a humanitarian corridor so that aid can reach an estimated million internally displaced people in camps there.
The war in Yemen, the economic collapse that it brought and restrictions on imports to Houthi-held areas have resulted in what the UN describes as the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, with 16 million people facing starvation.
An international coalition of forces led by Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the internationally recognised government from the capital Sanaa in late 2014.
The Houthis seized new territory in the energy-rich provinces of Shabwa and Marib last month.
Government officials confirmed the gains made by the rebels in an offensive that is expected to further complicate international peace efforts.
Yesterday, the UAE condemned the Houthi targeting of civilians in the south-western Saudi city of Khamis Mushait with explosive drones.