WHO warns escalating conflict in Yemen takes 'devastating toll'

Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several provinces in September 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.

Clashes between government forces and the Houthis resumed in July, marking the most intense fighting since a period of relative calm following a UN-brokered truce that began in April 2022. Fighting intensified in September, when the Houthis seized key areas in Al-Hudaydah and Taiz provinces, including the strategic city of Mokha and Mayyun Island overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Yemen’s Houthis claim attacks on Saudi airports, military bases. Yemen’s Houthi group claimed early on Wednesday that it carried out a series of drone and ballistic missile attacks targeting airports and military installations in Saudi Arabia.

In a statement on the US social media platform X, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the forces targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with several drones, claiming the strike was "precise" and disrupted air traffic there.

He also said Houthi forces conducted two operations targeting Abha International Airport and Khamis Mushait Air Base using a combination of ballistic missiles and drones. He claimed the attacks disrupted air traffic at the airport and caused damage to the military base.

In a separate statement, Saree said Houthi forces targeted three military camps — Dagharir in Jizan, Aakifah in Asir and Al-Mawsim in Jizan — with a large number of ballistic missiles and drones.