 | |
| Date | 11 January 2025 |
|---|---|
| Location | Al-Zahir, al-Bayda Governorate, Yemen |
| Deaths | ≥40 |
| Non-fatal injuries | ≥74 |
On 11 January 2025, a gas station and a storage tanker exploded in Yemen's Al-Zahir district, located in Al Bayda Governorate. The explosion and subsequent fire killed 40 people and injured at least 74 more, including 50 critically.
The explosion occurred in Al Bayda Governorate in central Yemen, a region under the control of the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The province has been a significant focal point in the ongoing Yemeni Civil War, which began in 2014, and has experienced numerous conflicts and incidents as part of the larger civil war context, such as the Al Bayda offensive and the 2024 al-Bayda bombing. [1] [2]
The explosions took place in the Nassefa area of the Al-Zahir district, involving four gas stations and a gas storage container located in a popular market. [3] [4] [5] The explosion occurred after a stray bullet from Houthis shooting at a car struck a nearby gas station. [6] At the time of the explosions, the market was reportedly crowded with people, vendors, and vehicles. [5] The explosions triggered an extensive fire that produced massive smoke columns visible from considerable distances. The blast destroyed numerous vehicles in the vicinity. At least 40 people were killed in the explosion. Among the 74 people injured in the incident, 50 sustained critical injuries. [7] Rescue teams conducted searches for missing individuals. [1] [2]
Marib is the capital city of Marib Governorate, Yemen. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Sabaʾ, which some scholars believe to be the ancient Sheba of biblical fame. It is about 120 kilometres east of Yemen's modern capital, Sanaa, and is in the region of the Sarawat Mountains. In 2005 it had a population of 16,794. However, in 2021, it had absorbed close to a million refugees fleeing the Yemeni Civil War.
The Houthi insurgency, also known as the Houthi rebellion, the Sa'dah Wars, or the Sa'dah conflict, was a military rebellion pitting Zaidi Shia Houthis against the Yemeni military that began in Northern Yemen and has since escalated into a full-scale civil war. The conflict was sparked in 2004 by the government's attempt to arrest Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, a Zaidi religious leader of the Houthis and a former parliamentarian on whose head the government had placed a $55,000 bounty.
The South Yemen insurgency is a term used by the Yemeni government to describe the protests and attacks on government forces in southern Yemen, ongoing since 27 April 2009. Although the violence has been blamed on elements within the southern secessionist movement, leaders of the group maintain that their aims of independence are to be achieved through peaceful means, and claim that attacks are from ordinary citizens in response to the government's provocative actions. The insurgency comes amid the Shia insurgency in the country's north as led by the Houthi communities. Southern leaders led a brief, unsuccessful secession in 1994 following unification. Many of them are involved in the present secession movement. Southern separatist insurgents are active mainly in the area of former South Yemen, but also in Ad Dali' Governorate, which was not a part of the independent southern state. They are supported by the United Arab Emirates, even though the UAE is a member of the Saudi Arabian-led coalition working to support the Yemeni government.
The Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen is an ongoing armed conflict between the Yemeni government, the United States and their allies, and al-Qaeda-affiliated groups in Yemen. It is a part of the Global War on Terror.
The siege of Dammaj began in October 2011 when the Houthis, a rebel group which controls the Saada Governorate, accused Salafis loyal to the Yemeni government of smuggling weapons into their religious center in the town of Dammaj and demanded they hand over their weapons and military posts in the town. As the Salafis refused, Houthi rebels responded by imposing a siege on Dammaj, closing the main entrances leading to the town. The town was controlled by the Houthis and the fighting was mainly centered at Dar al-Hadith religious school, which was operated by Salafis.
The following lists events that happened during 2014 in Yemen.
United States drone strikes in Yemen started after the September 11 attacks in the United States, when the US military attacked the Islamist militant presence in Yemen, in particular Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula using drone warfare.
The following lists events that happened in 2015 in Yemen.
Al Anad Air Base is a military air base in the Lahij Governorate, Yemen. It is the biggest air base in Yemen.
The Shabwah campaign was a campaign for control of the Shabwah Governorate of Yemen, between the Houthis and Yemen Army units loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh on one side, and militiamen and Yemen Army units loyal to Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi on the other side. The offensive was also launched during a previously started AQAP offensive.
The Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict is an ongoing armed conflict between the Royal Saudi Armed Forces and Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi forces that has been taking place in the Arabian Peninsula, including the southern Saudi regions of Asir, Jizan, and Najran, and northern Yemeni governorates of Saada, Al Jawf, and Hajjah, since the onset of the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen in 2015.
The Battle of Port Midi refers to a battle during the Yemeni Civil War between the Saudi coalition-backed Hadi loyalists and the Houthi government. Although Hadi loyalists seized the port, the Houthi fighters along with the popular committees managed to conduct some attacks around Midi. The conflict also had spillovers in the rest of the Hajjah Governorate. On 26 January 2017, Hadi loyalists extended their control to Harad District in Hajjah Governorate.
The following is a timeline of the Yemeni civil war, which began in September 2014.
The Al Bayda offensive began in late July 2020 with the restart of military operations by Houthis forces in Al Bayda Governorate, during the Second Yemeni Civil War against forces of Al-Qaeda in Yemen, the Islamic State in Yemen and military forces loyal to the Government of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Al-Hadi.
Events in the year 2024 in Yemen.
On June 5, 2021, a gas station in Marib, Yemen was hit by an airstrike allegedly perpetrated by the Houthis, killing at least 21 civilians. The airstrike occurred during the battle of Marib that began in February 2021, with Houthi forces attempting to seize the last Yemeni government-controlled city in northern Yemen.
Events in the year 2025 in Yemen.