80 Yemeni Soldiers Killed in Houthi Missile Attack
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20 January 2020 19:09 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A missile-drone-attack by Houthi rebels killed at least 80 Yemeni soldiers and injured 130 others during prayers at a mosque.
"I have said that the escalation in Yemen is very fragile. Such actions can thwart this progress," UN special representative to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, warned. He urged all parties to halt the escalation and focus their energy on policy instead, according to a CNN report on January 20, 2020.
Yemen's Ministry of Defense said the attack was to avenge Iran's terrorist murder, Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq on January, 3. The ministry did not offer evidence to show the motive of the rebels.
The attack occurred in Marib on Saturday in a mosque military camp. Yemeni president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi condemned it as "vile action and cowardly terrorist execution that conducted by the Houthi."
The explosion was derived from ballistic missiles conducted by the Houthi fighters, the military said in a statement. CNN has reported about 80 victims were killed, but the military said 79 people were killed and 81 were injured, quoted by Reuters.
Meanwhile, the state news agency quoting from Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated more than 100 people had been killed.
Yemen has been embroiled in civil wars for years, pitting coalitions supported by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
Reporter: Non-correspondent
Translator: Safira Andini