Houthi strikes kill four in Yemen's Marib and al-Makha

The Houthi group, which has controlled Yemen's capital Sanaa and other areas since September 2014, launched a series of missile and drone attacks on the government-held cities of Marib and al-Makha (Mocha) overnight, according to local media reports. The attacks, which occurred on Saturday and Sunday, killed at least four people and injured eight others, as confirmed by state media and the director of al-Makha airport. In Marib, the government media office reported that six ballistic missiles and four drones targeted residential neighborhoods on Saturday evening, wounding four people and causing damage to homes and civilian infrastructure. In al-Makha, a port city on the Red Sea coast, an attack hit the outskirts and another struck a main road, resulting in the deaths and injuries. Port operations in al-Makha had already been paused due to several days of strikes, according to Abdulmalik al-Sharabi, the director general of the government-controlled facility. In response, the Yemeni military said it launched 181 operations against Houthi positions in several governorates over the weekend, killing and wounding dozens of Houthi members. The Houthis acknowledged four of their members were killed but provided no further details. This escalation comes after a relative lull in fighting since April 2022, in a war that has lasted nearly 12 years. The renewed attacks threaten to undermine the fragile peace and could have significant humanitarian consequences for civilians in the affected areas.