Houthi strikes kill 10 in Yemen's oil-rich Marib as truce collapses

A barrage of missiles and drones hit military camps and residential areas in Marib on Friday, the deadliest escalation since a 2022 ceasefire unravelled.

Houthi rebels launched a heavy missile and drone offensive against Yemen's Marib province on Friday, killing at least ten people and wounding dozens more in the most serious escalation since a nationwide truce collapsed last month. A Yemeni military source said eight government soldiers died and twelve were wounded when more than ten missiles and seven one-way attack drones struck military positions, including the Sahn al-Jinn camp north of Marib city. Separately, health minister Qasim Buhaibeh reported that rebel shelling hit residential neighbourhoods and displacement camps in Marib city, killing two civilians and injuring fourteen.

The Iran-backed movement claimed responsibility through spokesman Yahya Saree, who said the strikes targeted Saudi-backed forces mobilising for an offensive. "The Saudi enemy continued to mobilise and incite its forces... these forces were attacked along with their arsenals, vehicles and military equipment," he said in a statement. The assault follows Thursday's attacks, which a military source said killed at least 58 government troops, mainly in Marib, marking one of the deadliest days of fighting in years.

Marib province has been split between the Houthis and government forces since the rebels resumed an offensive in 2021. The government holds Marib city and the surrounding oil infrastructure, while the Houthis control much of the surrounding countryside. A UN-brokered truce in 2022 froze the front lines, but the agreement frayed after the Houthis welcomed an Iranian aircraft into the capital Sanaa last month and declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia, targeting its oil tankers in the Red Sea.

A source close to the Saudi military told reporters the coalition would not stand "idly by" as the rebels escalate. "The coalition does not seek escalation, but we will not allow the current balance of power on the ground to be changed," the source said, adding that Riyadh believes the Houthis are preparing a ground offensive to seize the province.

Yemen's war, now in its second decade, has become a new front in the regional struggle between Tehran and Washington. The Houthis' decision to align openly with Iran's "axis of resistance" has drawn the United States into direct strikes against the group, while Saudi Arabia, still seeking an exit from a costly intervention, finds itself pulled back toward confrontation. Last month the rebels killed 16 government-aligned soldiers south of the port city of Hodeidah, underscoring that the violence is spreading beyond Marib.

For now, the front lines around Marib are ablaze again. Artillery exchanges and drone sightings were reported in Sirwah and on the Al-Kasara front north of the city, and an arms depot in the region was hit. Whether the Saudi-led coalition responds with air strikes or presses for a new diplomatic pause will determine if Yemen slides back into full-scale war or finds another fragile ceasefire.