Yemen: Casualties and Losses in Ammunition Depot Explosion in Sanaa Amid Houthi Silence

Al Mawqea Post

23-05-2025

Eyewitnesses in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, reported numerous casualties and extensive material and human losses following the explosion of a weapons depot affiliated with the Houthi group in the outskirts of the city.
Preliminary (unofficial) reports indicate that at least seventy people, including children, were killed in the explosion, which occurred at Khashm al-Bakrah military camp, located between the Sarf and al-Hatarish areas in the Bani Hashish district.
Residents told Al-Mawqe Post those three consecutive explosions took place inside a hangar, with the third blast occurring in the basement of a residential building. The incident shook the densely populated area, causing significant destruction to nearby homes and resulting in numerous casualties.
The exact type of weapons involved remains unknown, but local accounts suggest that the depot stored machine gun ammunition, mortar shells, and other explosives.
Activists on social media circulated footage capturing the moments of the explosion, the panic of residents, and rescue efforts for the wounded. Other videos revealed the scale of destruction in the surrounding neighborhood.
Sources in Sanaa told Al-Mawqe Post that the explosion in the building's basement killed at least three families, while the injured were rushed to Al-Jumhuriya and Police Hospitals.
The Houthi group has not issued any statements about the explosion or its causes. The group has imposed a strict information blackout, swiftly cordoned off the area with a security perimeter, and began inspecting anyone entering or leaving the explosion site.