4 Killed as Houthi Missiles Hit Yemen Presidential Palace
Is striking a foreign war command post on Yemeni soil legitimate self-defense or is it terrorizing civilians in the interim capital?
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Above: Verified video footage showing smoke above the presidential palace in Aden. Image credit: UGC/BBC
The Facts
- Houthi missiles struck the Al-Ma'ashiq presidential palace in Aden, the seat of Yemen's Saudi-backed government, on Thursday. Government military sources told AFP that four people were killed and 10 others were wounded.
- Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said five missiles hit the complex and that Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani and other members of the government were unharmed. Two members of the prime minister's security detail were killed.
- Houthi-run media said that the group targeted a military operations headquarters led by Saudi officers at the Al-Ma'ashiq Palace, as well as weapons depots. Reuters reported that it could not independently verify those claims.
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The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
Any foreign military command post set up on Yemeni soil is a fair target. Striking the Saudi war operations headquarters in Aden is a legitimate act of self-defense against an invading force that chose to park its war machine inside the country. Aggression carries consequences wherever its planners choose to operate.
Pro-establishment narrative
Firing missiles and drones at a presidential palace kills civilians, which makes it terrorism, not legitimate warfare. Such attacks prove the militia cannot match the determination of Yemenis to restore state authority, so sabotage becomes the fallback. International silence only invites more shelling of cities and civilian facilities.
