Houthis attack a medical center in Yemen's Lahj province: at least 20 civilian casualties

Strike on a medical center

At least 20 civilians were killed and wounded on Monday in a Houthi missile strike on a medical center in the southwestern Yemeni province of Lahj, the state satellite television channel Saba reported. the state satellite television channel SabaAccording to the channel, the strike hit the Al-Sukya medical center in the Al-Mudariba and Al-Araq district. The channel did not provide a breakdown between the dead and the wounded and gave no further details of the attack; the Houthi group itself did not promptly comment on the report.

Context: fighting in Lahj and the 'Dawn of Yemen' operation

Lahj is strategically important: it borders Yemen's temporary capital, Aden, to the north and west, and part of its districts lies near the Bab al-Mandab strait and the Gulf of Aden. In recent weeks, clashes between government forces and the Houthis have repeatedly occurred in the Al-Mudariba area without a decisive advantage. Government troops control most of the province, while the Houthis hold positions in certain districts of Al-Mudariba, Al-Qubayta and Al-Maqatira near the border with Taiz. Since October 5, government forces have continued the 'Dawn of Yemen' operation, which, according to Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, is aimed at restoring state institutions and retaking control of the capital, Sanaa. According to the UN, the fighting, which intensified in July, has claimed thousands of lives and forced more than 250,000 people to flee their homes, ending a period of relative calm that had lasted since April 2022. The conflict in the country has continued since September 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa, and in March 2015 a Saudi Arabia-led coalition intervened in support of the internationally recognized government.