Five killed in Houthi missile strike on Yemen city: state media

A view of a street in Marib, Yemen on April 7, 2021 is seen. REUTERS Ali Owidha

ADEN, Jan 28, Reuters - At least five people were killed and 34 injured in what Yemeni government media said was a Houthi missile strike on Marib city on Wednesday night, state news agency SABA said on Friday.

A resident and a medical source said a missile on Wednesday had fallen next to a military building in the Al-Matar area.

Marib city is the last northern stronghold of the Yemeni government. It is situated in an energy-producing region that has been the focus of the fighting over the past year, during which Iran-aligned Houthi forces have advanced towards the city.

The fighting for Marib has failed the UN's ceasefire efforts as both sides ramped up military operations. Aid agency Save the Children said on Thursday that 28 civilians had been killed or injured and international law must be respected in Yemen's seven-year conflict.

The civilians must be spared the horrors of ongoing fighting, it said in a Twitter post.

In the past few weeks, the Houthis have launched a number of missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, which leads a coalition backing the government's fight against the Houthis, and two unprecedented attacks on the United Arab Emirates, a coalition member. The Saudi-led coalition has increased air strikes on Houthi areas in Yemen in recent weeks, including a detention centre that killed 90 people.