Local Editor
Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement has rejected a claim by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that it was behind a deadly missile attack against positions of pro-Riyadh militants in the northern city of Marib.
The missile attack on Saturday targeted a military camp occupied by Saudi-backed militiamen loyal to the ex-Yemeni government in Ma’rib. Reports say there were also forces from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries at the site.
The death toll increased to 116 and is expected to rise, military and medical sources told AFP on Monday. Earlier reports said that 83 were killed and 148 injured.
The Saudi regime and the UAE — two key parties to a Riyadh-led coalition waging war on Yemen — blamed the raid on the Houthi movement, which has been defending the country against the invaders.
However, Mohammad al-Bakhiti, a member of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council, denied any role in the missile attack in an interview with the Al Jazeera television network late on Monday.
“If we had carried out the attack, we would have announced it publicly,” said the Yemeni official.
Tens of thousands of people — most of them civilians — have been killed in Saudi-led air strikes and ground operations in Yemen over the past five years.
The Houthis have responded by mostly targeting military positions deep inside Saudi Arabia or sites inside Yemen where Saudis have deployed mercenaries and military forces.
The Saudi-led war has triggered the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with the World Food Program saying that over 11 million people face a daily struggle to find enough food, and 240,000 people live in famine-like conditions.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
