A missile strike hit a medical facility in the south of Yemen, causing twenty casualties among civilians according to state media reports. The attack struck the Al-Suqya health centre in the Al-Mudaribah and Al-Arah district of Lahj province.
The state-run Saba satellite channel reported the incident. The broadcaster did not provide a specific breakdown distinguishing between the dead and the wounded.
Representatives for the Houthi movement did not immediately issue a comment. Lahj province shares a border with Aden, Yemen’s temporary capital.
This geography makes Lahj a key area that connects Aden with other parts of the country. The territory also borders Taiz, Al-Dhale, Abyan and Al-Bayda provinces.
Certain districts in Lahj sit close to the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden. Government troops and Houthi fighters have engaged in repeated battles within the Al-Mudaribah district over recent weeks.
Government units hold sway over most of Lahj. Houthi fighters maintain tactical positions inside parts of the Al-Mudaribah, Al-Qubaytah and Al-Maqatirah districts near the frontier with Taiz.
State military units have pursued Operation Dawn of Yemen since fifth October. Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi stated that the military campaign aims to restore state institutions and retake Sanaa from the Houthis.
Armed hostilities between state forces and the Houthi group escalated in July. United Nations reports indicate that the renewed fighting has left thousands of people dead or injured while displacing more than 250,000 residents.
The military escalation shattered a period of relative calm that had held across the country since April 2022. The worsening violence has deepened the humanitarian crisis afflicting Yemen.
The broader conflict erupted in September 2014 when Houthi forces seized control of the capital, Sanaa, alongside several other provinces. A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in March 2015 to support the internationally recognised government.
Houthi forces retain control over most northern and western regions, including Sanaa, Saada, Amran, Dhamar and Al-Hudaydah. Government forces and allied groups hold Aden alongside the majority of southern and eastern provinces.
