Houthis Blamed for Missile Attack that Kills Yemeni Chief of Staff’s Kin

A missile attack on an army base used by troops loyal to Yemen’s Saudi-backed government has killed at least seven people, according to military sources, who added that two of the victims were a son and a nephew of Lt.-Gen. Sagheer bin Aziz, the country’s chief of staff. The sources blamed the attack on Iran-backed Houthi rebels, although the Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility. The base is in Marib Province, northeast of the capital city Sanaa, and a venue for continued fighting despite a month-long coronavirus truce accepted on April 24 by a Saudi-led Sunni coalition that has been battling the Shi’ite rebels for some five years. The truce was not extended when it expired, and the coalition has staged airstrikes in the region in an effort to end Houthi advances. United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths had called for the cease-fire to allow the sides to spend time tackling the pandemic, but also in hopes of nudging them into long-term talks aimed at completely ending the conflict. The fighting has turned Yemen into what some international health officials are calling a nation on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe owing to widespread hunger and illness.