On January 29, Wednesday, nine soldiers of the Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi-led army in Yemen died in an airstrike carried out by its alliance partner Saudi Arabia in Jafra in the Marib province. As per reports, 10 more soldiers have been seriously injured in the attack.
On the other side, Houthi forces claimed to have attacked Saudi Aramco facilities in Jizan near the Red Sea using drones and rockets on Wednesday. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saria made the announcement in a telecast on Al-Masirah channel, Reuters reported. The Houthis also claimed that they had attacked the Saudi airport of Abha and Jizan and the Khamis Mushait military base.
Last year in September, Houthis had attacked Saudi Aramco facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais, following which Saudi Arabia began informal talks with the Houthis which are still ongoing. However, Saudi Arabia has recently increased its airstrikes in Houthi-dominated regions in Yemen, which has been claimed as the reason behind the latest round of Houthi attacks.
The war in Yemen has been going on since 2015, when Houthi forces took control of the capital Sanaa and ousted the government of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi for its widespread corruption and pro-American tilt. Since then, Hadi has received the support of a Saudi Arabia-led coalition of states with the active military backing of the US and the UK, among others.
The coalition forces have carried out airstrikes and enforced a land and sea blockade of Yemen, leading to the deaths of thousands of civilians. The conflict has caused large-scale starvation, pushing millions towards famine and depriving them of proper medication. The UN has declared the situation in Yemen as the biggest humanitarian crisis of the century.
