Sanaa, Yemen – At midnight on Tuesday, air strikes rattled the Yemeni capital Sanaa, a city that has been mostly spared bombing since a truce was announced between the internationally recognised government and the Houthis in 2023. The head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashid al-Alimi, had recently announced a new military offensive was being launched, named Operation Dawn of Yemen, to take Sanaa from the Houthis, who have held the city since September 2014. Government ground forces remain hundreds of miles away from the capital and embroiled in fighting with the Houthis on Yemen’s west coast and around Taiz.
This means attacks on Houthi positions in Sanaa must come from the air, but the air campaign has caused civilian casualties. An air strike on Monday hit a location in the Sa’wan area of Sanaa governorate, killing a child and wounding seven other civilians. The Yemeni government has pledged to continue its attacks until it achieves its objectives, notably the recapture of Sanaa.
Regardless of the political opinions of Yemenis in the capital, most fear their city, far from the front lines, will become a war zone once again. Strong memories remain of the Saudi-led coalition’s Operation Decisive Storm, launched against the Houthis in March 2015, which saw hundreds of civilians in Sanaa killed in air strikes. Since the start of the new Yemeni government offensive, dozens of strikes have hit the capital, including an attack on Sanaa’s international airport, which killed two workers.
Both operations were aimed at Houthi sites. Ghamadan Abood, a 30-year-old courier and Sanaa resident, said the new wave of attacks on the city has heightened fear among residents. With Houthi military facilities believed to be positioned in the city, and the government sometimes hitting residential areas, the bombing highlights the vulnerability of civilians in Sanaa.
So, innocent people could be killed, injured or left terrified,” Abood said. Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government, has also come under repeated missile attacks by the Houthis, including two strikes on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the latest on Saturday killing 12 people. On Tuesday, the Saudi-led coalition said Sanaa, Saada, and Amran were among the primary sources of Houthi missile threats.
The coalition has noted that ongoing military operations are aimed at curbing the group’s ability to launch missiles on the kingdom. More than 200,000 people have been displaced since fighting in Yemen escalated in recent weeks, according to the International Organization for Migration. Most of those forced to leave their homes have come from Taiz governorate in southwestern Yemen, where the most intense ground fighting between government and Houthi forces has taken place.
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