ALBAWABA- At least 45 soldiers from Yemen's internationally recognized government forces were killed and more than 70 others wounded in coordinated Houthi missile and drone attacks targeting military camps in the governorates of Ma'rib and Hadhramaut, according to preliminary reports from pro-government military sources.
The strikes targeted several military positions, including camps belonging to the First and Third Emergency Brigades and other units aligned with the internationally recognized government, marking one of the deadliest attacks since the UN-brokered truce significantly reduced large-scale fighting more than four years ago.
Government-affiliated media said the attacks came as security forces were conducting operations to secure strategic areas, protect international highways, combat arms and fuel smuggling, and pursue criminal networks involved in highway robberies, assassinations, and organized crime.
The operations reportedly involved the First Emergency Brigade, the First Military Region, Homeland Shield Forces, and other military and security units.
In a statement, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group launched a "large-scale and qualitative military operation" after detecting what it described as extensive Saudi-backed military mobilizations in the Al-Ruwayk, Al-Abbar, and Al-Thaniyah areas.
He claimed the operation employed ballistic missiles and drones to strike military camps and mobilization sites, asserting that it inflicted heavy casualties, destroyed military vehicles, weapons depots, and other facilities. The claims could not be independently verified.
Saree accused Saudi Arabia of preparing a new military escalation against Houthi-controlled areas and reiterated the group's warning that it would continue targeting Saudi-backed forces unless what it described as the blockade on Yemen is lifted. He also renewed the Houthis' "siege for siege" policy, warning Riyadh against further military action and urging fighters aligned with the government to abandon their positions.
The attacks represent the most serious escalation between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces in years, raising concerns that Yemen could be sliding back into full-scale conflict after a prolonged period of relative calm.
The renewed violence follows weeks of mounting regional tensions and threatens to unravel years of diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the country's decade-long war.
The conflict, which intensified following the Saudi-led military intervention in March 2015, has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, leaving hundreds of thousands dead, displacing millions, and devastating Yemen's economy and infrastructure. The latest escalation could further deepen the humanitarian emergency and undermine prospects for a negotiated political settlement.
