Yemeni President and Cabinet Members 'Safe' After Ma'ashiq Palace Attack

The Yemeni Cabinet affirmed that the terrorist Houthi militias’ attack on the Maashiq Presidential Palace would not deter the government from continuing its campaign to end the coup carried out by these militias. The Council condemned the Houthi militias’ targeting of the Maashiq Palace in the temporary capital, Aden, with missiles and drones, confirming that the attack resulted in the killing and wounding of several guards and palace staff.

In a statement, the Council said this targeting reveals the militias’ continued pattern of attacking civilians and civilian facilities, as well as their inability to confront the Yemeni people’s will to restore state institutions and end the coup. It added that the attack would not undermine the resolve of the state and the government, nor divert them from fulfilling their national and constitutional duties and continuing efforts to restore state institutions and end the coup.

The Council stressed that Aden would remain the center for state institutions’ operations, and that intimidation attempts would not succeed in disrupting public life. The statement noted that the targeting of Maashiq Palace comes within the context of the Houthi escalation and the battle to restore the state, which is being advanced through the “Yemen Dawn” operation aimed at extending state authority over all Yemeni territories, reaching the capital, Sanaa.

It pointed out that Houthi militia attacks have extended to targeting civilians and vital facilities in Saudi Arabia, as well as shelling residential neighborhoods in the Yemeni governorates of Taiz and Lahj, endangering civilian lives and threatening Yemen’s security, that of neighboring countries, and regional stability. The Council called on the international community and the United Nations to take a clear and firm stance against these attacks, not to treat them as isolated incidents detached from their context, and to exert the necessary pressure to stop the targeting of civilians and civilian facilities, and to hold those responsible for violations accountable.

It emphasized that the government would not back down in the face of threats, and that the restoration of the republic would remain a national goal, affirming that Yemen’s future would not be held hostage by militias that use weapons against their own people and threaten the security of their neighbors.

Earlier, the Yemeni Ministry of Information confirmed that Prime Minister Dr. Shae’at al-Zandani and government members were “safe and well,” following the Houthi terrorist militia’s missile attack on the Maashiq Presidential Palace in the temporary capital, Aden.

Yemeni Minister of Youth Naif Saleh al-Bakri told Al Arabiya satellite channel that “all government members in Aden are safe and well,” noting that the Houthi militia targeted the Maashiq Presidential Palace with four missiles and a drone, resulting in the death of two guards and injuries to six others. Al-Bakri stressed that the government would remain in Aden, would not leave, and would continue its work from there, affirming that the “Yemen Dawn” operation was ongoing.

On the ground, the official spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, loyal to the legitimate government, announced that the armed forces, with support from the Popular Resistance and the air force, had broken through violent attacks launched by the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist militia on several battlefronts in Taiz governorate. The militia’s elements were forced to retreat and flee after suffering heavy casualties and equipment losses.

The spokesperson stated that the western front of Taiz city and the southern parts of the governorate witnessed the fiercest clashes, which coincided with air strikes targeting Houthi militia gatherings, their military convoys, and their deployment sites. This resulted in dozens of killed and wounded, and the destruction and damage of several combat vehicles belonging to the Houthi terrorist militias.