A flurry of Saudi airstrikes over the past 48 hours has killed a growing number of members of the Shi’ite Houthi movement, according to Saudi military sources, with reports putting the death toll at 79 during that period.
These strikes are focused heavily on the Houdeidah Province, where the last Houthi-controlled port city is Yemen’s most vital aid port. Saudi airstrikes around the port have killed a number of civilians, as well as the Houthis.
Control over the port is vital as it supplies food to an estimated 70% of the Yemeni population. As the last Houthi port, the loss of the port would cut millions off from any food and medical aid, escalating a malnutrition problem into mass starvation.
Details on who the killed Houthis are is unclear, but the strikes centered on training camps close to the city, with the bodies taken to the hospitals in the area. This likely suggests that many of the slain are trainees recruited in the province to try to fend off the ongoing offensive.
Right, 79. Not 78 or 80 because the Saudis know exactly who and how many are killed in all their bombing raids.