Airstrikes and Market Attack Kill Dozens as Yemen's War Reignites

Two deadly attacks in two days have pushed Yemen's reignited war further into civilian areas. A missile hit a market in Taiz governorate on Friday, and airstrikes struck a town near the capital, Sanaa, on Saturday. Each attack killed dozens, according to the reports, and each side blames the other or its backers.

The United Nations says more than 1,600 people have been killed and more than 300,000 displaced since fighting resumed, the BBC reported. Yemen's government says its offensive against the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels will continue.

What happened in Taiz and near Sanaa

Al Jazeera reported that a missile struck the al-Hadara market in Taiz governorate on Friday, killing and wounding dozens, mostly civilians. Government military spokesman Col. Majed al-Nazili blamed the Houthis for firing ballistic missiles and called it a war crime. The Houthis denied it and said Saudi Arabia, which backs the government, was responsible. The BBC reported that the attack is believed to have killed 30 people, a figure the Associated Press attributed to Houthi officials.

On Saturday, airstrikes hit the town of al-Shariya, also spelled al-Shariyah, east of Sanaa. Reports of the toll differ. Anees Alasbahi, a spokesman for the Houthi-run Health Ministry, told the AP that 22 people were killed and 30 wounded, mostly women and children. The BBC, citing media linked to the Houthis, reported at least 33 dead. The Houthi-run Saba news agency put the injured at 39.

The Houthis blame Saudi Arabia for the strikes. Neither Saudi Arabia nor the Saudi-led coalition had commented, according to the AP and the BBC. The BBC said Al Masirah, a Houthi-run television station, showed rescuers pulling bodies, including those of young children, from the rubble. None of these casualty figures could be independently confirmed in the reports.

How the war flared up again

The BBC reported that Yemen's war had been dormant for several years but reignited because of the Iran war. A truce began to fall apart when Saudi Arabia struck Sanaa's airport, which the Houthis control, to stop an Iranian plane from landing. The Houthis then targeted Abha airport in Saudi Arabia. They also began hitting Saudi ships using the Red Sea off Yemen's coast as an alternative oil export route to the Strait of Hormuz.

Al Jazeera reported that Yemen's internationally recognized government launched an offensive called "Dawn of Yemen" on Oct. 5. It followed Houthi gains along the Red Sea coast, including the port city of Mocha in September. The government says its goals include recapturing Houthi-held areas, securing the Bab al-Mandeb strait and retaking Sanaa, which the Houthis have held since September 2014. The offensive relies on air support from the Saudi-led coalition.

Competing claims on the battlefield

The government says its forces have retaken positions in Taiz, Marib and Lahij. Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council said its forces have carried out 40,761 military operations and "neutralized" about 20,000 Houthi leaders and fighters. The Houthis say they have faced 3,930 raids and missiles up to early November. Al Jazeera said it could not verify these figures. It also reported that the government lost ground in Taiz, where a Houthi siege is now in its first month.

Thomas Bonnie James, an assistant professor of politics and international relations at Aberdeen University, told Al Jazeera that government forces look large on paper but are spread across too many fronts and use old equipment. He said Sanaa's mountain setting makes it easy to defend, and that a stronger Saudi-Emirati coalition failed to take it from 2015. In his view, the operation is meant to raise the cost of the war for the Houthis and strengthen Saudi Arabia's position before any peace deal.

Why it matters for civilians and the region

The human cost is the most immediate effect. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, and Al Jazeera described the humanitarian crisis as intensifying. Taiz is under siege, and the two latest attacks hit a market and residential buildings where women and children were among the victims, according to the reports.

The fighting also reaches beyond Yemen. The Houthis have fired missiles at Saudi airports and oil facilities, and have attacked Saudi ships on the Red Sea route that the BBC described as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. Hours before the al-Shariya strike, the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted a missile heading toward Riyadh.

What comes next

Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council has described its drive to dismantle Houthi military capacity as "irreversible." Observers cited by Al Jazeera say the war may worsen before any resolution. Houthi leader Mahdi al-Mashat has vowed revenge for the latest attacks, the BBC reported. James said the next three months will matter more than the slogans.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by Al Jazeera, ABC News, BBC News