Houthis say 26 Saudi airstrikes hit Yemen as gov't forces step up operations

Yemen's Houthi group said Sunday that Saudi warplanes had carried out 26 airstrikes across five Yemeni provinces over the past 24 hours, while government forces said they had conducted hundreds of attacks against Houthi military targets in the past three days.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement on Sunday that Saudi F-15 fighter jets operating from Khamis Mushait Air Base carried out the strikes on Taiz, Al-Jawf, Marib, Dhamar and Saada provinces, according to Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

Sarea said the strikes caused casualties but gave no detailed toll, adding that they brought the number of Saudi airstrikes and missile attacks since the current escalation began to 1,085, a figure that could not be independently verified.

Meanwhile, Yemeni government forces said Sunday that they had carried out 756 attacks against Houthi positions, personnel, and military capabilities across several areas of Yemen over the previous 72 hours.

Majid al-Nuzaili, a spokesperson for the government forces, said in a statement on X that the operations destroyed or disabled military vehicles, missile launchers, weapons depots and other equipment. Al-Nuzaili said that 2,316 Houthi fighters were killed or wounded in the operations.

There was no immediate response from the Houthis to the government forces' claims.

Fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Houthi group has intensified across southwestern Yemen recently after the group seized the strategic port city of Mocha and Mayyun Island in the Bab al-Mandab Strait earlier this month.

Yemen's conflict began in late 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.

Houthis say 26 Saudi airstrikes hit Yemen as gov't forces step up operations

Houthis say 26 Saudi airstrikes hit Yemen as gov't forces step up operations

Houthis say 26 Saudi airstrikes hit Yemen as gov't forces step up operations

China's top political advisor Wang Huning on Monday called for firmly following the right path for solving ethnic issues with Chinese characteristics and pooling mighty force to advance Chinese modernization.

Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the statement when meeting with a delegation of 150 representatives of ethnic minority groups from across China.

Noting that the cause of China's ethnic unity and progress faces new developments and tasks during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), Wang urged the representatives to study and implement the law on promoting ethnic unity and progress and lead people of all ethnic groups to maintain and safeguard ethnic unity.

Wang called for further work to foster a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, promote the common progress of all ethnic groups towards socialist modernization, and facilitate extensive exchanges and integration among all ethnic groups.

He urged the representatives to stay unswervingly committed to the country's modernization drive and contribute to the high-quality development of the ethnic minority areas, in efforts to lead people of all ethnic groups to jointly create a better life.

The delegation consisted of individual role models and representatives of model units honored for their work in promoting ethnic unity and progress at the provincial-level and above since 2024.

China's top political advisor meets representatives of ethnic minority groups