Houthi Missile and Drone Strikes Target Residential Neighborhoods and IDP Camps in Marib

Local authorities report that Yemen’s Houthis have launched multiple strikes targeting the government-held city of Marib, directly impacting residential neighborhoods and displacement camps. According to Marib’s provincial authority, the group deployed four ballistic missiles and four drones on Saturday, resulting in several injuries alongside significant damage to homes and vehicles.

Marib governorate officials stated via X that a fifth ballistic missile injured one person later that day, followed by a sixth missile launched overnight into Sunday. Officials characterized the assault as a continuous threat to civilians and internally displaced persons living in the area. Marib currently accommodates over two million internally displaced people, representing the largest concentration of displaced populations in Yemen.

Verified video footage broadcast by Al Jazeera highlighted the extensive destruction left in the wake of Saturday’s attacks. Furthermore, Yemen’s Ministry of Information warned on X that the persistent targeting of densely populated regions constitutes a dangerous escalation that exacerbates civilian suffering.

These developments coincided with military clashes further south. Yemeni government forces reported that drone strikes along the Maqbanah front west of Taiz killed three fighters from the Iran-backed Houthis, including field commanders, while injuring others. A military source informed the Yemeni News Agency (Saba) that an additional strike successfully destroyed a Houthi military vehicle in Jabal al-Zuhayb, resulting in more casualties among the fighters.

This wave of violence forms part of a broader escalation that began in early August when Houthi strikes on military installations in Marib and Hadramout killed at least 30 government soldiers. Subsequent attacks caused civilian casualties in Marib and the port city of al-Makha (Mocha). Amid intensifying hostilities across multiple fronts, United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg cautioned the UN Security Council that the nation faces its greatest risk of returning to full-scale war since the April 2022 truce.