At Least 30 Killed in Taiz Market Attack Amid Conflicting Accounts
Key Facts
At least 30 people were killed and 8 others injured in an attack on Al-Hadharah market in Al-Wazi’iyah district, Taiz governorate, on Friday, November 6, according to a Houthi official and a spokesperson for the group’s health ministry. The Houthi official said airstrikes hit the market, while authorities aligned with Yemen’s government blamed the Houthis and said the area had not been subjected to airstrikes. Taiz governorate’s media office acknowledged an attack and casualties but gave no toll or details. The accounts differed over how the attack was carried out and who was responsible. The Associated Press was unable to independently verify either side’s claims.
An Associated Press report quoted a Houthi official as saying the death toll was at least 30. Anis al-Asbahi, spokesperson for the Houthi health ministry, said 8 people were injured in the strikes on the market. Both tolls remain attributed to Houthi officials, as the agency could not independently verify the parties’ accounts. The governorate’s media office, meanwhile, did not give a casualty count, saying only that an attack had taken place at the crowded market and that there were casualties. Authorities aligned with the government said the Houthis were responsible for the attack and denied carrying out airstrikes in the area.
Yemeni military spokesperson Majed al-Nuzayli gave a detailed account of whom he accused of carrying out the attack, saying the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Al-Hadharah market in Al-Wazi’iyah. Al-Nuzayli called for those responsible to be held accountable. His statement conflicts with the Houthi official’s account that airstrikes hit the market. Taiz governorate’s media office acknowledged the attack and casualties without specifying how it was carried out or who was responsible. The conflicting accounts remained part of mutual accusations that the Associated Press was unable to independently verify.
The attack comes amid a Houthi military advance toward Taiz. The Associated Press said the Houthis stepped up their advance toward the city in September after taking the coastal city of Mokha. Mokha is about 130 kilometres from Taiz, and the report described it as a strategic gateway to southern Yemen. The report also noted the importance of its location in the context of Red Sea shipping. The development places the market attack amid escalating military tensions in the governorate, without in itself establishing any change in control lines or shipping.
The governorate also faces humanitarian pressures as fighting continues. Arab News said the World Food Programme warned the previous month that escalating clashes had cut off food assistance to more than 800 thousand people. This reflects one effect of continued fighting on residents’ access to food. Taiz governorate’s media office had described the market as crowded when acknowledging the attack. It gave no details about the number of casualties or their needs, while the reported death and injury toll came from Houthi officials.
Al-Nuzayli said the attack would strengthen the army’s resolve to continue Operation “Dawn of Yemen.” He described the operation as targeting the Houthis and aimed at protecting civilians, regional security and international shipping lanes. Al-Nuzayli did not specify a date or details of planned moves under the operation. In a subsequent development, the Associated Press reported on November 7 that airstrikes hit homes in a village near Sanaa, killing at least 27 people and injuring 36, according to the Houthi health ministry. The agency said the Houthis announced attacks on Saudi Arabia in response to Saturday’s strikes near Sanaa and the deadly attack on a market in southwestern Yemen on Friday, and that it had not independently verified their claims.