Taiz (Yemen), Oct 21 (AP) Iran-backed Houthi rebels struck a residential area in Yemen’s third-largest city, killing two teenage girls and renewing attention on the dangers faced by civilians in Taiz, which has been under attack and siege during the country’s escalating conflict.
The attack took place on Tuesday. The Houthis have largely encircled Taiz, cutting it off from most supply routes and putting civilians at “grave risk”, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said Tuesday. The UN says the siege of the strategically important city in southwestern Yemen has left many residents without food and other necessities as prices soar.
The attack on Taiz on Tuesday came a day after a Houthi strike on a government military camp killed 73 recruits, the deadliest strike since the resurgence of the conflict over the summer, according to a senior Yemeni government official.
The conflict has intensified since forces from the internationally recognised government and Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes on Houthi-held Sanaa International Airport in July, shattering a 2022 ceasefire deal that largely stopped fighting in the country’s civil war.
Yemen has become a widening front in the Iran war that began in February — and the Houthis have increasingly launched attacks on Saudi Arabia because it supports Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
Britain said on Tuesday that it would expand its military support for Saudi Arabia to include “defensive” air patrols by Royal Air Force jets.
UN says Houthi siege of Taiz risks humanitarian crisis
————————————————————
Heavy fighting between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces caused extensive damage in a densely populated residential area of Taiz. Six people were wounded in the Houthis’ deadly attack there.
Resident Zainab Ali said she was away when the strike occurred but returned to find her home had been destroyed.
“We are a family of orphans, and we do not know what to do,” she said.
Late on Tuesday, Yemen’s government forces claimed — without providing evidence — that they had thwarted Houthi attacks in several areas across Taiz and had killed dozens of Houthi fighters. The claim could not be independently verified, and the Houthis did not immediately comment. The rebel group rarely releases its own casualty figures.
A strategic gateway to southern Yemen, Taiz has been a focal point of fighting since the civil war began more than a decade ago; it is also one of Yemen’s most important historic and cultural centres.
Houthi fighters began advancing again on Taiz last month, after capturing the port city of Mokha, an area vital to controlling shipping through the Red Sea.
The Houthis have besieged Taiz as part of their months-long offensive, repeatedly targeting Yemeni government forces with missiles and artillery.
“Humanitarian aid must be immediately allowed to enter the city and its passage must be facilitated. Civilians wishing to leave must be allowed to do so freely and safely,” Türk, the UN human rights chief, said.
He urged the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces to avoid using explosive weapons in areas where they could hit civilians and civilian infrastructure.
(PTI News)
