Yemen’s Houthis fire four ballistic missiles at central city as army repels southern attack

Yemen’s Houthi group fired four ballistic missiles at the government-held city of Marib on late Monday, while the army reported repelling a separate Houthi assault in the country’s south, according to local authorities and military officials.

Marib’s local government said the missiles targeted the densely populated city, which hosts large numbers of displaced people. The authorities gave no immediate details on casualties or damage.

The latest attack came a day after local authorities reported that the Houthis had fired eight ballistic missiles at Marib, without providing information on possible losses.

On October 15, the governorate also reported a Houthi attack involving nine ballistic missiles and seven other projectiles targeting residential neighborhoods. Marib, a major government stronghold and oil and gas production hub, is home to more than 2.2 million displaced people, according to government figures.

Separately, Yemen’s army said on Monday that its forces had repelled a Houthi assault on the Kahbub front in the western part of Lahj governorate in southern Yemen. The army-affiliated Southern Giants Brigades said in a statement that Houthi fighters launched successive waves of attacks, triggering hours of clashes involving various weapons.

Read: Iran offers help to end Saudi-Houthi conflict through dialogue

Backed by the Saudi-led coalition, government forces forced the attackers to retreat, killing and wounding Houthi fighters and destroying military equipment, according to the statement.

The brigades did not provide casualty figures.

Saudi-led coalition warns Houthis against using traditional boats to smuggle arms

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen warned the Houthi group on Monday against using traditional boats to smuggle weapons, missiles and military equipment into the country, citing risks to civilians and regional security.

The coalition’s Joint Forces Command stressed in a statement that the practice threatened security in Yemen and beyond.

It urged boat owners not to cooperate with the Houthis in transporting weapons and military equipment to Yemen’s coast, warning that their lives and property could be put at risk.

The statement gave no details of specific smuggling operations or intercepted weapons shipments.

Houthi attack kills 58 at Yemen government training camp, governor says

Fifty-eight people were killed, and more than 200 were injured after an attack on Monday by the Houthis on a government security forces training ​camp in Yemen's Shabwa province, Governor Awad al-Wazir said, as fighting in the impoverished ‌country intensifies.

Video verified by Reuters from Shabwa province showed injured people and bloodied bodies scattered across the ground. Wazir also said that 14 other people remained missing after the Houthi bombardment of the Al-Alam camp.

The ​Houthis and the internationally recognised government, which is backed by a Saudi-led coalition, ​have been trading attacks since the group advanced in September towards territory ⁠near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a shipping chokepoint at the mouth of the Red Sea.

Read more: Six injured as Houthi projectile hits Najran, says Saudi Civil Defence

Local ​authority sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Houthis had launched three ballistic ​missiles at security forces during a training exercise.

Shabwa, an energy-rich province in south-central coastal Yemen overlooking the Gulf of Aden, is home to the Balhaf liquefied natural gas facility, Yemen's largest industrial investment.

Houthi military ​spokesperson Yahya Saree said on X that the group had targeted the training camp, which ​he said was run by Saudi forces. The Saudi authorities did not immediately respond to a request ‌for ⁠comment.