Yemen's Houthis fired missiles at the presidential palace complex in the southern city of Aden on Thursday, killing two guards, while the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen detailed dozens of attacks on Saudi infrastructure in the escalating conflict. The attack was the first in the current conflict between the Iran-aligned Houthis and Saudi Arabia on Aden's al-Maashiq palace, the seat of Yemen's Saudi-backed and internationally recognised government.
The government's prime minister and cabinet members were safe following the attack, Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said. Witnesses told news agency Reuters they heard loud booms near the palace. Yemen's cabinet said the attack involved missiles and drones, and officials told Reuters that two guards were killed.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the Houthis had bombed what he described as the Saudi military operations headquarters in Aden, as part of the group's declared policy of targeting "Saudi reinforcements wherever they were located".
The Houthi-run news agency SABA said the headquarters was run by Saudi officers and that there were weapons depots there.
The renewed fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed forces resumed in Yemen last month, and aid agencies have warned of rapidly worsening conditions. Last week, government forces launched a campaign to recapture areas controlled by the Houthis, recovering ground near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a global shipping artery.
Why are the Houthis fighting their own government?
The Houthis are attacking Yemen’s internationally recognised government because they want to consolidate their own political and military power, control more territory and challenge a government they regard as illegitimate. The conflict began as an internal struggle over power in Yemen but grew into a regional conflict involving Saudi Arabia and Iran.
1. Houthis want to control Yemen
The Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah, emerged in northern Yemen in the 1990s. Its supporters felt politically and economically marginalised. Over time, it developed into an armed movement challenging the central government. In 2014, the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and forced the internationally recognised government from the city.
2. Houthis reject the rival government
Yemen is now divided between competing authorities. The Houthis run much of the north, including Sanaa, while the internationally recognised government, represented by the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), operates primarily from the south.
The two sides disagree over who should govern Yemen, how political power should be shared and who should control the country's institutions and resources.
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3. Saudi Arabia's intervention intensified the war
In 2015, Saudi Arabia led a military coalition to support the government against the Houthis. Riyadh viewed the movement's growing power, and its relationship with Iran, as a security threat.
The intervention turned Yemen's internal conflict into a wider regional confrontation. Years of fighting, airstrikes and economic disruption deepened the humanitarian crisis.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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