Houthis strike Yemen government and Saudi targets as violence intensifies

Houthi militant group, officially known as Ansar Allah, has intensified their attacks on Yemeni government and Saudi targets, escalating the ongoing conflict. According to the state-run news agency Saba, the group targeted Aden International Airport, the seat of the internationally recognized government, with two ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones. The Houthi spokesman, Yahya Saree, claimed that their armed forces fired back at a Saudi military convoy that had landed at Camp Badr, near the airport.

Earlier this week, Yemen's internationally recognized government announced a counter-offensive aimed at reclaiming Red Sea coastal territory previously seized by the Houthis. The campaign's objective is to restore all of the territory it has lost in the 12-year civil war. Saudi Arabia and its allies launched attacks on Houthi positions on Monday, claiming to have regained control of the Arabian Gulf side of the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha, which the Houthis captured in September.

However, the Houthis denied this, posting videos of their fighters inside Mocha. Reports suggest the fighting around the port city is largely composed of long-range missile exchanges, with Mocha still in Houthi hands.

On Tuesday, the Iran-aligned group reported missile and drone strikes on several Saudi Arabian sites, including King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Abha International Airport, and an airbase in Khamis Mushait. The intensifying violence has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, with the UN's refugee agency reporting that over 130,000 people have been internally displaced since the beginning of August.

Additionally, nearly 3,700 people have fled to Djibouti since September. The World Health Organization recorded 959 deaths and 4,207 injuries across Yemen from August 6 to October 2, with cholera cases tripling in three weeks, primarily affecting governorates with large displaced populations, including Taiz, Aden, and Abyan.