Yemeni media reported a series of explosions in the city of Marib on Friday following a rocket-and-drone attack by the forces of “Ansar Allah” (the Houthis) on targets inside the city. According to available information, the strike caused casualties and injuries, and in response pro-government forces in Yemen said they carried out a military operation against Houthi positions in Marib Governorate.
A source in Yemen’s military structures said that the government air defenses shot down several Houthi drones in the skies over Marib. The state TV channel Saba, which broadcasts from this city, said that the “Houthi militia” shelled the densely populated city with rockets and drones, but did not provide details on the scale of the damage. The Minister of Health and Population in the Yemeni government, Qasem Buhaybah, said two civilians were killed and 14 people were injured, stressing that the strike hit residential neighborhoods and displacement camps.
Buhaybah said that Marib is the largest center for refugees and internally displaced persons in Yemen, and called what happened an attack on people who had already been forced to flee their homes because of the war. He urged hospitals and medical institutions to switch to a state of heightened readiness. At the same time, there was no official final report at the time of publication on all hit targets or the final death toll, and figures from different sources on losses differed.
Meanwhile, the Shabwa defense forces, loyal to the Yemeni government, announced a retaliatory operation on the Harib front in Marib, saying it was a response to the killing of two of their fighters in a drone strike. Al Jazeera journalist Ahmed ash-Shalfi posted a video showing smoke above a residential area, and witnesses said that some of the rockets and drones hit the Sahn al-Jin area, where military forces and equipment are based, but where civilians also live. Against this backdrop, Yemen is experiencing a noticeable escalation: earlier, the country’s Ministry of Defense reported new casualties, and Houthi attacks also affected Hadramaut and Saudi Najran.
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What is the Sahn al-Jin camp in Marib and why are military forces, equipment and civilians there at the same time? — Sahn al-Jin is a district/camp in Marib Governorate in eastern Yemen that, in wartime conditions, is used not only as a place to house the military, but also as an area where civilians who fled fighting are concentrated. This is because there are many displaced people in Marib, and the governorate itself has long been relatively safer than other areas, so security forces, military equipment and civilians ended up close to one another.
Why is Marib considered the largest hub for internally displaced persons in Yemen, and what role does it play in the current war? — Marib became the largest center for internally displaced persons because, during the war, people moved there in large numbers from more dangerous governorates: for a long time it retained the reputation of being a place where one could find shelter, work, and assistance. In the current war, Marib has strategic importance: it is a resource-rich governorate, important for controlling eastern Yemen, and therefore fierce fighting is taking place there between recognized authorities and the Houthis.
Full version: قتلى مدنيون وعسكريون في هجوم للحوثيين على مأرب