Explosion during military parade targets Yemeni high command and leaves up to six people dead

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The UN is facing pressure to suspend peace talks in Yemen after a Houthi drone targeted the Yemeni government military high command, killing up to six people attending a military parade.

The attack, involving a sophisticated drone not previously used by the Houthis, occurred outside the UN-administered ceasefire zone in Lahj province in the south of the country on Thursday. The Houthis said the drone strike was a reprisal for actions by the Saudi Arabian-backed government of Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

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The Houthis claim the Saudi air force is still launching attacks.

With the UN still trying to implement key aspects of the outline and preliminary deal reached in Stockholm last month, the drone strike damages trust between the sides locked in a three-year civil war. It also highlights a drawback of a partial rather than nationwide ceasefire.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Video still shows moment drone exploded above Yemen’s al-Anad airbase. Photograph: Nabil Hasan/AFP/Getty Images

UK diplomats are likely to press ahead with plans to table a security council resolution next week under which UN monitors would head to Yemen to monitor the ceasefire. The original timetable for planned troop withdrawals may be deferred.

The Yemen government’s information minister, Muammar al-Iryani, condemned the strike, saying: “Once again this proves that the Houthi criminal militias are not ready for peace and that they are exploiting truces in order for deployment and reinforcements.

“This is time for the international community to stand by the legitimate government and force the militias to give up their weapons and pull out of the cities.”

The Yemeni foreign minister, Khaled al-Yamani, speaking in Jordan, said the Houthis had yet to implement the central agreements struck in Stockholm, including the removal of its forces from Hodeidah, and the opening of the heavily mined road between the port city and the capital, Sana’a.

Yemen’s government claims the Houthis have committed more than 400 breaches of the ceasefire. With Houthis making similar accusations against coalition forces, the absence of credible UN monitors makes the situation difficult to assess.

The parade was taking place inside a military base in al-Anad district when a loud explosion rocked the area. High-level officials including the Yemeni army’s deputy chief of staff were wounded in the attack, as well as the head of the intelligence unit, the commander of the military police and the army commander of the fourth region.

The Saudi-owned Al Arabiya news channel reported that six soldiers of the Yemeni army were killed and 20 others injured, among them journalists and the governor of Lahj.



The type of drone used, a Qasef-2K, is designed to explode from a height of 20 metres and rain shrapnel down on its target, according to the Houthis. The design resembles one manufactured in Iran.

Yuri (@yuri4434) Husilere ait insansız hava aracının Bae destekli güçlerin tören noktasına saldırı anı.. Yemen pic.twitter.com/kETvTHieet

The drone was aimed at a podium where security officials were sitting listening to speeches, footage of the attack suggests.

In November the Houthis had said they were halting drone and missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their Yemeni allies. Previous drone strikes have largely been focused on air defence batteries.

The Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV claimed the attack on Thursday targeted “the leadership of the invaders”.

Diplomats said the attack showed the need to try to broaden the ceasefire agreement to cover the whole of the country, but this would require a resumption of the talks between Yemen government and the Houthis.

Implementation of the Stockholm agreement has stalled partly because it did not clearly spell out the make-up of the security force that was due to take over Hodeidah.

A small, high-level committee of rebel officers and government officials meets in Hodeidah under the chairmanship of a retired Dutch general to monitor the ceasefire. It is this committee that represents the best hope of sufficient trust being established.

The Yemen government claims the Houthis are using the ceasefire to deepen their defensive positions inside Hodeidah.