Houthi authorities have reported this Sunday that at least seven people have died and another 40 have been injured in an airstrike attributed to Saudi Arabia on a market on the outskirts of Taiz, in southwestern Yemen. The internationally recognized Yemeni government, on the other hand, claims that the target was a camp of Iran-allied rebels.
In a statement reported by Efe, the Houthi Health Ministry has stated that "seven citizens died and another 40 were injured, including five children, as a preliminary figure after the attack by Saudi enemy planes" on "commercial premises" in the Economic Corporation market at the Mawia junction in Taiz province.
Furthermore, the statement condemns "this heinous crime committed by Saudi enemy planes, which directly and deliberately targeted civilian objectives by launching several airstrikes" on commercial premises, as well as on the perimeter wall of the local radio station in the province.
The Yemeni government forces, on the other hand, offer a different version: they claim that their combat planes targeted a military camp and Houthi vehicles in the same area. Meanwhile, residents of the affected area have reported to Efe seeing explosions and columns of smoke rising after the attacks.
These conflicting versions have not been able to be immediately verified, neither the Houthi claim that the attack directly hit commercial premises nor the Yemeni government's claim that the target was a military position of the insurgents.
Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition since 2015 intervening in Yemen in support of the recognized government and with the aim of halting the advance of the Houthi rebels, who in recent days have intensified their attacks on Saudi territory.
This latest attack comes in a context of intensified fighting around Taiz, where forces loyal to the government and the Houthis have exchanged attacks as both sides seek to strengthen their positions and control key routes in the province.
The Houthi offensive, which began in September, has reignited the war in Yemen that started in 2014 after the rebels took over Sanaa and had been frozen since the parties agreed to a ceasefire mediated by the United Nations at the end of 2022, which has largely held until now.