The conflict in Yemen has escalated across multiple fronts, with the UN envoy warning of a potential full-scale war. According to reports, more deaths and casualties have been reported in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, stated that hostilities have intensified in recent weeks in Yemen. He condemned Houthi attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.
On Thursday, two attacks targeted Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, killing three Saudi citizens, including an airline pilot, and injuring several others of various nationalities. The attacks, one on airport facilities and the other on an aircraft belonging to Saudi Arabia's national carrier, Saudia, prompted several airlines to cancel flights to and from Riyadh. Airport operations and air traffic have since resumed.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen announced on Friday night that it had destroyed 136 military targets in areas controlled by the Houthis group. Coalition spokesperson Turki Al-Malki released a video showing the destruction of ballistic missile storage facilities inside mountain tunnels in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. The Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported that two airport employees were killed and two others wounded in an airstrike on Sanaa International Airport on Friday afternoon.
Overnight airstrikes across Sanaa sparked fires at four civilian facilities, according to the Houthi-controlled civil defense authority. The authority stated that one factory was completely destroyed, while other facilities suffered extensive damage to buildings, equipment, and stored materials. No casualties were immediately reported from the overnight strikes.
Fighting also intensified between the Houthis and government forces, backed by the Saudi-led Arab coalition, in southwestern Yemen, particularly around the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait. Yemeni government forces renewed an offensive against Houthi positions near Bab al-Mandab, seeking to expand recent gains and push deeper into Houthi-held areas overlooking the vital international shipping route.
A government military official claimed that dozens of Houthi fighters had been killed in Friday's clashes, adding that government forces had called on Houthi fighters remaining in the area to surrender. However, al-Masirah TV gave a conflicting account, saying Houthi forces had repelled government troops advancing from the neighboring province of Lahj toward the southern approaches to Bab al-Mandab.
In a Friday briefing to the UN Security Council on Yemen, Hans Grundberg urged a political settlement, stating that unless war is to become Yemen's permanent reality, the time to consider political strategies is now. Turkey strongly condemned the Houthis' attacks on Saudi airports, calling for an immediate halt to attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Key points
- The conflict in Yemen has escalated across multiple fronts.
- The UN envoy for Yemen warned of a potential full-scale war.
- The conflict has resulted in more deaths and casualties in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
