Seven Killed in Strike on Yemen Market at Taiz

Seven people were killed and dozens wounded when strikes hit a market at the Mawiya junction near Taiz, Yemen, on Sunday, September 27, according to the Houthi-run health ministry.⁸¹⁷³

Disputed target

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree pinned blame on Saudi Arabia, claiming two Saudi air raids struck the market, but Yemen's internationally recognised government countered that its own forces had instead hit Houthi vehicles and a nearby military camp at the junction. According to Yemen's government, Houthi fighters had only recently set up that camp close to the market.¹⁴⁵⁹

The Houthi-run health ministry described the strike as an "abominable crime" and said the Saudi Air Force had directly and deliberately targeted civilian sites in Taiz, an allegation that could not be independently verified. Al-Masirah TV, the Houthi-affiliated broadcaster, said at least five children were among those wounded.¹²⁷⁴

Accounts of the toll varied. Some reports put the dead and wounded at close to 50, and multiple Houthi sources told AFP that nearly 30 fighters were killed alongside eight civilians in a series of strikes. Those same sources indicated that government troops have so far failed to push back the Houthis' newest push.³⁴⁷

Wider conflict

Taiz, described by one account as a central battleground of Yemen's civil war, has for years been encircled by Houthi forces despite remaining in government hands. A fragile truce between the government and the Houthis broke down months ago, and fighting reignited in July against the backdrop of a wider Middle East war.¹

This month the Houthis mounted a swift push that brought the whole of Yemen's Red Sea shoreline, including the Bab al-Mandab passage, under their control, and they cut off Saudi energy shipments around the same time Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz. The renewed fighting has displaced more than 130,000 people by one estimate and 125,000 by another, and has killed nearly 700 people according to one figure.¹²³⁴

The conflict traces back to 2014, when Houthi forces took over the capital Sanaa and pushed their control across most of the northern region. A year later, Saudi Arabia stepped into the war, leading a multinational coalition opposing the Houthis. Yemen remains one of the poorest countries in the world.¹⁴

Regional escalation

Saudi authorities reported shooting down a pair of Houthi drones bound for Riyadh on Saturday, leading private schools in the city to pause face-to-face teaching and switch to online classes for a week. The Houthis said they had carried out 27 strikes across six Yemeni provinces in the preceding 24 hours.²³⁴⁶

Saree said the deaths at the market would carry consequences for those responsible, and the Houthis vowed to retaliate.¹⁵⁶⁷