Archive: Rod Waddington / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0
SANAA, Yemen – Health authorities run by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said late Sunday that the death toll from airstrikes on Saturday near the capital, Sanaa, has risen to 44, with 40 more people wounded. The Houthis say most of the dead are women and children, including 21 children and 10 women. We have not independently confirmed these figures.
The Houthi health ministry said the strikes hit homes in the village of al-Shariya, in the Bani Hushaysh area east of Sanaa, and that rescue teams were still searching for people reported missing. The Houthis blame Saudi Arabia for the attack. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed carrying out the strike, and we have not seen a Saudi statement on the casualty claim.
Context: a 2022 truce that had paused Yemen’s long-running war collapsed in July. Since then Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have traded attacks, and the Houthis have struck Saudi airports, energy sites and military targets. Early Houthi-run media reports on Saturday had put the toll at 25 dead and 30 wounded, so the figure has climbed sharply.
Why it matters: Yemen is on the Red Sea shipping route and next to Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, so a rise in fighting can affect energy and trade. Still unknown: who carried out the strike and what the target was, the independently verified toll, and whether either side will respond.
File photo: the old city of Sanaa. It does not show the strike site.
JBizNews Desk | Sanaa, Yemen
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