Yemen’s Houthi rebels have accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out an air strike on a prison in the northern city of al-Hazm, killing at least seven people, including a child.
The strike hit the Central Corrective Facility in al-Jawf province, near Yemen’s border with Saudi Arabia, according to a spokesperson for the Houthi-run Health Ministry. At least seven others, including a woman and a child, were wounded. Some reports suggested that at least 35 people remained trapped beneath the rubble of the collapsed facility.
Houthi-run media broadcast footage said to show the aftermath of the strike, including a collapsed building and people searching through the debris. Saudi Arabia had not commented on the Houthis’ allegations at the time of reporting.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree accused Riyadh of “committing massacres” in al-Jawf. He also claimed that Houthi forces had shot down four Saudi reconnaissance drones over the previous 24 hours.
Saree further said that Houthi forces had used ballistic missiles to target Saudi supply trucks carrying military equipment at a border crossing in Yemen’s Hadramout province.
Hours after the reported attack on the correctional facility, the Houthis said they had launched missiles and drones at several targets in southwestern Saudi Arabia. According to the group, the targets included the international airport in Abha, King Khalid Air Base, and facilities belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco in Abha and Jizan.
The accusations came amid an escalation in fighting between the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognised government. Government forces said they had made territorial gains in several provinces, including al-Jawf, Bayda, Dhale and Marib.
Government-aligned forces have also launched counterattacks in Taiz and Hodeidah after the Houthis began an offensive aimed at gaining control of the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed in the latest round of fighting.
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg called on all sides to halt hostilities and exercise maximum restraint, warning that the escalation could spiral into a full-scale war.
