Airstrikes rocked Yemen’s Houthi-controlled capital overnight into Friday after some of the fiercest fighting in years erupted in the country’s third largest city, Taiz, the latest signs that the country is sliding back toward full-scale war.
Al-Masirah, the television channel of the Iran-backed Houthi militia, said strikes had hit the capital, Sanaa, and at least three provinces, including Taiz. It blamed what it called “Saudi aggression,” a reference to the Saudi-led coalition that backs Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
A spokesman for forces aligned with Yemen’s government said they had struck “high-value targets” in Sanaa, but did not provide further details.
Renewed fighting erupted last month, shattering a fragile military stalemate in the country, as the Houthis launched a lightning offensive and seized the entire Red Sea coast, giving the militant group a foothold near one of the world’s most important shipping routes, the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The Houthis have accused Saudi Arabia of launching hundreds of airstrikes in Yemen, which Saudi officials have largely not acknowledged.
Fighting has restarted along multiple front lines as the Houthis battle forces allied with the Yemeni government for territory. More than 800 people have been killed and thousands more have been injured or displaced since fighting started up again, according to the World Health Organization.
