Conflicts in Most Dangerous Countries: 63 Killed in Yemen as Houthis Battle Government and Saudi Forces
Multiple active conflicts in the world’s most dangerous countries have produced high casualties and heightened nuclear safety risks, with at least 63 combatants and civilians reported killed in Yemen fighting, 26 dead in Sudan market violence, and Russian actions at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant raising fears of power loss.
Yemen Clashes Produce Heavy Toll
At least 23 government soldiers and 40 Houthi fighters were killed in Yemen fighting over 24 hours, with Saudi Arabia recording its first death from a downed Houthi drone that scattered shrapnel in Taif. [3] Fresh fighting left scores of combatants dead in Yemen on Thursday, as Saudi Arabia reported its first death since hostilities flared anew and its Yemeni government allies sought to roll back the group’s recent gains. [3] The sides have been locked in increasingly violent exchanges since Yemen’s civil war roared back to life, with the Iran-backed Houthis launching a new offensive that saw them capture all of the country’s Red Sea coast. [3] At least 23 government soldiers were killed over the previous 24 hours in missile and drone attacks by the group in two southwestern provinces, a government military official told AFP on Thursday. [3] Houthi military sources reported 40 fighters killed in Saudi airstrikes and fighting on the ground during the same period. [3] Earlier in the day, Saudi Arabia’s civil defence agency reported the country’s first fatality since the Houthis began targeting their territory as part of their revived campaign. [3] “The fall of shrapnel from a downed drone in Taif governorate resulted in one death, two injuries, and material damage to several buildings and vehicles,” the agency said, in a statement posted on social media, adding that the person killed was a Yemeni national. [3] Images posted by Saudi state media showed windows in cars and shop fronts shattered by the shrapnel, with nearby buildings also damaged. [3] The incident came a day after Riyadh accused the Houthis of launching a “cowardly” thwarted drone attack targeting Islam’s holy city of Mecca, a claim the group denied. [3] The EU voiced its “full solidarity” with Saudi Arabia as it condemned the recent Houthi strikes. [3] “We urge the Houthis to cease all military action,” said a statement from EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni, adding “the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure is unacceptable”. [3] Earlier in the day, the Houthis said “Saudi enemy warplanes targeted three telecommunications towers” in Taiz province, with one civilian killed and another injured in strikes on the town of Abs, Almasirah television said. [3] The Houthi-backed outlet later reported that “three children were killed and several Yemeni nationals were injured in strikes by the Saudi-backed mercenaries”, a reference to the country’s internationally-recognised government. [3] The Houthis have been reporting dozens of daily Saudi strikes since they launched their new offensive and seized control of strategic areas overlooking the Red Sea’s Bab al-Mandab Strait from government forces. [3] With Iran already throttling the Strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of the wider Middle East war, their Yemeni allies’ latest gains cement their hold on the other main shipping corridor for Gulf oil and gas. [3] The route had been especially important to Saudi Arabia, the world’s top crude exporter, which had used a pipeline to bypass the Hormuz and send oil to the Red Sea, which links Europe and Asia via the Suez Canal. [3] In July, a fragile 2022 truce between the Houthis and the government fell apart after the group allowed an Iranian plane to land in the capital Sanaa in defiance of Riyadh’s control over Yemeni airspace, setting off a spate of attacks. [3] They also announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began striking its ships and territory. [3] The conflict in the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country has forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes, according to the United Nations. [3]
Houthi Evolution into Regional Threat
A lightning advance by Yemen’s Houthi group has brought the vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait under its control, making the once ragged highland militia a regional player with global clout. [4] This is how the group evolved into a formidable fighting force with Iranian support that can disrupt vital shipping and strike critical oil and gas facilities in neighboring Saudi Arabia. [4] Starting out in the late 1990s as a Zaydi Shiite Muslim revival movement in northern Yemen under the Houthi family, the group waged six wars against the government, building a strong local militia. [4]
Russia Accused of Sabotaging Zaporizhzhia
Russia is sabotaging the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in occupied southeastern Ukraine and blaming it on Kyiv to “confuse and distract” from the threats posed by its “illegal occupation and war”, Greenpeace has warned. [1] In a report published on Thursday, the environmental group concluded that Moscow is “deliberately sabotaging” the plant’s electricity supply while engaging in a “disinformation campaign” about the attacks. [1] Greenpeace Ukraine and London-based McKenzie Intelligence Services (MIS) analysed satellite imagery of the site and found no evidence of Russian claims that Ukrainian attacks had occurred. [1] “The satellite imagery and evidence is clear – Ukraine did not attack its own Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant electricity system,” said Shaun Burnie, a nuclear specialist at Greenpeace Ukraine. [1] “This is part of a massive disinformation campaign, enacted by Moscow to confuse and distract from the real safety threats caused only by their illegal occupation and war.” [1] “The repeated loss of external power at [the plant] is the result of Russian military attacks on Ukraine’s electricity grid and sabotage operations at [the plant] and associated switchyards,” he said. [1] MIS analysed several satellite images of the 330 kV Ferosplavna-1 power line near the Zaporizhzhia plant provided by Airbus’s defence and space division. [1] The images were taken between October 2025 and June 2026 and analysed to assess whether damage at the site was caused by Ukrainian artillery fire on February 10 and a Ukrainian drone strike on June 4, as Moscow alleged. [1] MIS concluded that the damage to the power line was inconsistent with artillery fire or drone strikes. [1] It added that artillery fire would usually leave a pattern of impact craters and dispersed damage across the targeted area, which was not visible. [1] MIS also found that the damage allegedly caused by a Ukrainian drone strike on June 4 was already visible before the supposed attack. [1]
Nuclear Safety Warnings at Occupied Plant
According to the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Ferosplavna-1 is Zaporizhzhia’s only remaining external power line. [1] Last month, the IAEA stressed the importance of a stable electricity supply at the plant to ensure nuclear safety. [1] Greenpeace echoed that warning on Thursday, saying that a stable electricity supply is crucial to “operate essential reactor safety systems, including pumps that provide cooling for nuclear fuel in reactor cores and spent fuel pools”. [1]
Deadly Outbreak of Violence in Abyei
Abyei, 17 September 2026 – The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) strongly condemns the outbreak of violence at the Amiet Common Market on 15 September, which resulted in the death of 26 people and the injury of 82 others, as of 16 September. [2] The incident follows separate killings of a Ngok Dinka man and a Misseriya man on 14 and 15 September respectively, which heightened tensions. [2]
Gaza Hospital Forced to Curtail Services
Gaza’s Kuwait Specialty Hospital to suspend most services over fuel supply cutoff. [5] Hospital says work will be limited to critical emergency cases from Sunday after WHO notified it that fuel supplies would stop. [5]
What to watch next: The IAEA has stressed that stable external power is essential at Zaporizhzhia to run reactor cooling systems, with Ferosplavna-1 now the plant’s only remaining power line. [1]
