Yemen: 23 killed in Houthi-run prison airstrike as Saudi-led coalition renews attacks

Rescuers dug through the rubble of a Houthirun prison that was hit in an airstrike in northern Yemen earlier this week even as the Saudiled coalition renewed its attacks on the rebel areas Wednesday Rescuers recovered four bodies raising the death toll at the prison to 23 people the Houthis saidThe prison collapsed on Monday after it was hit when the coalition targeted the strategic city of Hazm in the northern Jawf province which in turn prompted the Houthis to launch a wave of missile and drone strikes on southern Saudi Arabia that wounded 73The flareup was a major escalation in renewed fighting between an important US ally and the Iranian proxy group further destabilising a region rocked by nearly three years of conflict most recently the IranianAmerican war that delivered a blow to the global economyHassan Saboula director of the civil defence agency in Jawf said a child was among the dead and rescue teams were searching for seven people missing The identities of those killed were yet to be determined alMasirah satellite news channel cited Saboula as saying The strike also wounded at least seven people including a woman who was visiting her husband said Anees alAsbahi a spokesman for the Houthirun health ministryMeanwhile the coalition launched air strikes on Houthi military facilities in the provinces of Marib and Jawf early WednesdayYemen plunged into civil war in 2014 when the Houthis descended from their northern stronghold and seized the capital Sanaa forcing the internationally recognised government to flee southward then into exile in Saudi Arabia A Saudiled coalition entered the Yemen war the following year in an attempt to restore the government The war has killed at least 150000 people according to UN estimates and at times pushed the country to the brink of famineEscalation between the rebels and the coalition started when the Houthis attempted in July to fly a plane from Tehran to Yemens capital Sanaa challenging a decadelong air and naval blockade by the coalition which struck the runway of the Yemeni airport preventing the landing of the flightHouthis have since targeted Saudi Arabia and attacked Saudi shipping in the Red Sea On Tuesday they hit several Saudi oil facilities and utilities and some operations have since been temporarily suspended according to the Saudi Energy MinistryThe rebels have been attacking Saudiallied government forces on multiple fronts in Yemen However government forces turned the tide earlier this month striking Houthi positions across Yemens west coast on the Red SeaThe outbreak of violence has killed at least 194 people and wounded over 880 others between Aug 23 and Sep 5 according to the World Health Organisation It also displaced more than 21000 people the WHO said It has also shattered a fouryear truce that had largely ceased fighting in the civil warThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever