Houthis say Saudi strikes on Yemen’s Taiz leave dozens of casualties

SANAA, Sept 28 — Saudi airstrikes on Taiz in southwest Yemen caused dozens of casualties, the Iran-backed Houthi group reported on Sunday, as fighting escalated further following a truce's collapse. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree accused Saudi Arabia of launching two air raids that hit a market outside the city, resulting in nearly 50 people being killed or wounded.

The spokesman stated that blood was "unjustly and aggressively spilled" in an online statement, vowing retaliation for the attack. Earlier, Al-Masirah TV channel, affiliated with the Houthis, reported that a strike killed seven people and wounded 40 others at a Taiz market. Subsequently, the channel cited the group's health ministry, noting that five children were among the wounded.

Multiple Houthi sources later informed AFP that roughly 30 fighters from the group perished in the strikes, while eight civilians succumbed to their injuries. Taiz, currently under government control, has been besieged by Houthi fighters and is one of the primary battlegrounds in Yemen's ongoing civil war. Al-Masirah's broadcasts displayed vehicles with shattered windows and warehouses littered with debris.

Following several years of relative peace, Yemen's conflict reignited in July amid the rising Middle East tension. The impoverished nation continues to endure a severe humanitarian crisis. In September, the Houthis intensified their offensive, seizing the entire Red Sea coast, including the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a crucial shipping route.

They have simultaneously imposed a blockade on Saudi energy exports, further exacerbated by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. On Saturday, Saudi Arabia claimed to have intercepted two Houthi drones en route to Riyadh. Riyadh's schools announced on Sunday that they would shift to remote learning for a week, though the reason was not disclosed in messages sent to parents, according to AFP.

The Yemeni war began in 2014 when the Houthis ousted the Saudi-backed government in Sanaa and subsequently took control of significant portions of the northern part of the country. Despite Saudi support, Yemen's government forces have been unsuccessful in halting the latest Houthi advance.