Dozens of casualties reported after attack on market in Taiz, Yemen

An attack on the al-Hadara market in al-Waziiya district, in the west of Taiz governorate in south-west Yemen, left dozens of people killed or injured on Friday 6 November, according to both the Houthis and the Yemeni government. AP reported that it happened at about 7 a.m. local time. AP, citing the Houthis, described it as a vegetable market. Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV, as relayed by Xinhua, said it was crowded with shoppers.

The two sides disagree on the cause. The Houthis (Ansar Allah), the Iran-aligned movement that holds Sanaa, accuse Saudi Arabia of three air strikes that killed at least 30 civilians and wounded eight. The Yemeni government says the Houthis fired a ballistic missile. Al Jazeera and AP both said they could not independently verify either account. Al Jazeera reported no response from the Saudi-led coalition. Saudi Arabia's information ministry did not immediately reply to AP.

Two accounts, each from an interested source

The Houthi account comes through Houthi channels. The Houthi health ministry in Sanaa called the attack a "horrific crime" by Riyadh. It asked for an independent international investigation into what it called Saudi Arabia's "systematic targeting" of civilians, Al Jazeera reported. Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesman, said in a post on X that Saudi aircraft hit the market "with three airstrikes, leaving dozens of civilians dead and wounded" (CBS News). AP reported that he said the aircraft took off from Khamis Mushait air base in southern Saudi Arabia and left Taiz province at about 8 a.m. AP noted he gave no evidence. On Friday Saree also said "These brutal crimes will not go unanswered and unpunished" (CBS News).

The government account comes through government channels. Col. Majed al-Nazili, the government forces spokesperson, said the "terrorist" Houthis struck the market with ballistic missiles. He called it a "war crime" (Al Jazeera). Yemen's Defense Ministry also said a ballistic missile was fired, Anadolu reported. The government-run Taiz local authority, citing its military operations room, said military aircraft "did not execute any airstrikes" in the district that day (Yemen Monitor).

The figure of at least 30 dead and eight wounded is the Houthi health ministry's, and its spokesman Anees Alsabahi said the toll was expected to rise. AP's first version carried at least 20 dead and 15 wounded. The government gave no number.

What to watch

Four things would show how this develops. The first is whether the Saudi-led coalition responds. On the same Friday it did issue statements on missile and drone interceptions near Najran and the Mecca region, according to CBS News, but none on al-Hadara. The second is whether the UN, the Red Cross or any other independent body gains access to the site. The third is whether either side produces physical evidence that outsiders can examine.

The fourth is Saree's warning that the attack "will not go unanswered". Al Jazeera reports that the Houthis have been firing missiles and drones daily into Saudi Arabia, and says the strikes have hit airports and oil facilities and disrupted air traffic over the kingdom. A further round of fire after Saree's warning is a risk, not a forecast. For the people of al-Waziiya, the market is both the scene of the attack and the subject of the dispute over it.