Airstrike on prison reported in Houthi-controlled area in Yemen

An airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition struck a prison in Houthi-controlled Al-Jawf province, Yemen, leaving women, children, and dozens of inmates trapped under rubble. The Houthis vowed retaliation, while the UN envoy warned that escalating hostilities could derail fragile ceasefire efforts and worsen civilian suffering.

Sanaa: An airstrike hit a prison in Houthi-controlled Al-Jawf province in northern Yemen, causing casualties, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported, attributing the strike to the Saudi-led coalition.

The strike hit the prison in Al-Hazm, the provincial capital, on Monday (local time), the report said, adding that women and children were among the casualties.

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Al-Masirah quoted the prison director as saying that 35 inmates and a woman visiting her husband remained trapped beneath the rubble.

Footage aired by al-Masirah apparently showed extensive damage to the facility and rescuers searching through debris.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting al-Masirah TV.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on social media platform X on Monday that the Saudi military operations in Yemen “will not go unanswered,” alleging that the operations included airstrikes, reconnaissance flights and the supply of weapons to Yemeni government forces.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognised Yemeni government.

A UN-brokered truce that took effect in April 2022 expired six months later without a formal extension, but a fragile de facto ceasefire has largely held until the recent escalation.

The Houthi group announced a maritime ban on Saudi shipping in July and has since claimed attacks on Saudi tankers and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, the UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, has said that recent Houthi attacks across several frontlines are “an extremely alarming development” that threatens to further expand the conflict.

In a statement posted on social media platform X on Monday (local time), Grundberg said reports of civilians killed and injured, families displaced, and civilian infrastructure damaged were “deeply troubling.”

Grundberg said a return to sustained large-scale fighting will have grave consequences for civilians and make an already difficult path toward a political settlement even harder.

He called on all parties to “cease all hostilities,” exercise maximum restraint, and use existing channels, including the UN’s Military Coordination Committee, to prevent further escalation.

The envoy said he will continue engaging directly with the parties to contain the current escalation and preserve space for dialogue, while urging regional and international actors to use their influence towards those objectives.