Yemen: Houthi drones hit government military parade

Houthi drones yesterday attacked a Yemeni government military parade in Lahaj province, killing several people, Saudi and Houthi media reported.

The parade was taking place inside a military base in Al-Anad district when a loud explosion rocked the area, eyewitnesses said, high-ranked officials including Yemen’s deputy chief of staff were wounded in the attack.

Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV said five were killed and several were injured. The Houthi’s Al-Masirah TV said the attack targeted “the leadership of the invaders.”

READ: Deployment of 75 UN observers to follow up truce in Yemen 

A military source said the attack targeted the podium where officials were sitting.

Impoverished Yemen has remained in a state of civil war since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sana’a.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and shoring up Yemen’s embattled government.

According to UN officials, more than 10,000 people have been killed in the war, while more than 11 per cent of the country’s population has been displaced.