The internationally recognized government of Yemen has denounced Saturday’s Houthi ballistic missile and drone attack targeting a gas station in Marib governorate as a blatant “war crime” that killed and injured at least 17 civilians, including children.
Heinously, the Iran-backed Houthis are disregarding peace initiatives tabled by world states and are pressing on with their offensive against Marib, where over a million internally displaced Yemenis have sought asylum in IDP camps.
The northeastern governorate is one of the most significant strongholds for the Yemeni government.
The gas station attack in Marib’s Rawdha neighborhood drew on Sunday international, regional, and local condemnation and sparked widespread anger among human rights organizations.
So far, Houthi militias have rejected a US-backed UN plan to stop the fighting and insisted on securing battlefield gains.
Instead of cooperating with ceasefire efforts, the insurgents are demanding the government first lift restrictions that primarily sets back achieving objectives in their war agenda.
Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdul-Malik labeled the recent Houthi assault on Rawdha as a “terrorist crime.”
“War crimes committed by militias will not go unpunished,” confirmed Abdul-Malik, adding that the bloodshed suffered by innocent civilians will haunt Houthis until the day their bloody and destructive project is uprooted.
In a phone call with Marib Governor Sultan al-Aarada, Abdul-Malik reaffirmed Houthi desperation for securing military advances in the governorate.
“As usual, Houthi militias resort to targeting civilians to compensate for failures in their military offensives and Iranian-backed plan to control Marib,” he told al-Aarada, according to official sources.
“Severe human and material losses Houthis incurred reflect the bloody approach of these criminal gangs that seek to thwart any shift towards peace,” explained Abdul-Malik.
The prime minister called on the UN and international community to take back the leniency shown to Houthis, saying that the group exploits it to stage attacks that amount to “terrorist massacres and crimes.”
