Seven Family Members Killed in Southern Yemen; Houthis and Govt Trade Blame

A family of seven were killed on Saturday in the southern Yemeni province of Dhale, an area where fighting between the Shi’ite Houthi movement and government forces has been raging.

Both sides are trying to blame the other for this incident, as the seven died when their vehicle exploded in Qataba District. The Houthis say it was an airstrike from Saudi warplanes, while pro-Saudi officials claimed it was mortar fire from the Houthis.

Civilian deaths in Yemen have soared in recent years, as pro-Saudi forces have tried to invade densely populated areas, and have relied heavily on airstrikes to do that. Though the Houthis have killed some civilians as well in shellings, the Saudis have killed vastly more, and are probably the more likely suspect.

This is an unusual case, however, because the Saudis usually only try to blame the Houthis for incidents that they don’t want to have blamed directly on them. Killing a family of seven certainly isn’t laudable behavior, but the Saudis have done much worse in the past without feeling the need to publicly comment at all.