Houthi media reported on Sunday that a Saudi airstrike in Taiz, in southwestern Yemen, killed seven people and injured dozens more.
Al-Masirah TV, the channel of the Iran-backed Houthis, said the strike killed seven people and wounded 40 at a central marketplace in Taiz, just minutes after it reported that a Saudi fighter jet had targeted the area.
After years of relative calm, Yemen’s war flared up again in July, set against the backdrop of the widening conflict in the Middle East.
Fighting escalated in September when the Houthis launched a lightning offensive, seizing Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast, including the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a crucial shipping lane.
At the same time, the Houthis have imposed a blockade on Saudi energy exports, which are already stifled by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
At the same time, the Houthis have imposed a blockade on Saudi energy exports, which are already stifled by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
On Saturday, Saudi Arabia announced it had intercepted two Houthi drones flying toward the capital, Riyadh.
In messages emailed to parents and seen by AFP, schools in Riyadh announced on Sunday that they would switch to remote learning for a week, without providing a reason.
Taiz, a major city held by the internationally recognized government, has been pushed to the frontlines of the fighting between the Houthis and government forces.
Yemen’s war broke out in 2014, when the Houthis took the capital Sanaa from the Saudi-backed government and then went on to seize control of large parts of the country’s north.
Even with Saudi backing, Yemen’s government forces have been unable to push back the latest Houthi offensive.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree still reported on Saturday that Saudi air forces had carried out 27 strikes targeting the provinces of Taiz, Marib, Saada, Amran, Ibb, and Hajjah.
