In the south, Yemen’s Houthis made Sunday a claim that they had seized a Saudi military base in the country with a joint drone and missile attack, with the fighting forcing many more civilians out of their homes.
The attack targeted the military base in Sharurah, which is suspected of housing weapons and command-and-control centres involved in military operations against the Houthis, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Tuesday. He didn’t give the time or date of the operation.
The statement coincided with a quick escalation in armed conflict between the Iranian-backed Houthi and Saudi-backed Yemen’s internationally recognised government forces. The Yemeni government forces reported that they had targeted Houthis’ outposts in the Red Sea port city of Mocha and southwest Taiz region.
The Yemeni military said its air force hit three targets at Houthis’ presumed positions and barracks in the Yemeni city of Taiz. Government forces also said that they demolished vehicles and armaments and killed Houthis fighters near Mocha.
The escalation comes as part of the Houthis’ offensive to gain control of a section of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and strategic islands on the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The Houthis are also calling for a maritime blockade of Saudi ports on the Red Sea.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman twice requested last week that US President Donald Trump start airstrikes against the Houthis, which were reportedly denied, Axios reported. The developments introduce an additional dimension to the broader Middle East conflict, and pose a risk to security in one of the region’s significant maritime lanes.