Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Sunday accused the Saudi air force of striking a commercial area around Taiz’s central market. The Iran-aligned Houthis said at least seven people were killed and dozens more injured.
What do we know so far?
The group’s Al-Masirah television channel broadcast images showing large plumes of smoke and a destroyed warehouse filled with food in boxes. Al-Masirah television also reported that children were among the injured, citing the Houthi health ministry.
Taiz is currently under the control of Yemeni government forces, but has long been besieged by Houthi fighters and remains one of the main fronts in the country’s civil war. Taiz is located in southwest Yemen.
The escalation of fighting comes after the breakdown of a fragile truce between Yemeni government forces and Houthi rebels months ago and new regional tensions sparked by the war in Iran.
The Houthi health ministry accused the Saudi air force of committing a “heinous crime,” saying it directly and deliberately targeted civilian sites in Taiz.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree accused Saudi Arabia of launching two airstrikes on the market, adding that blood had been “unjustly and aggressively shed” in a statement posted online.
The group vowed to fight back.
The Houthis’ claims cannot be independently verified.
In response to the Houthi report, troops loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognized government confirmed that their air forces had struck a Houthi depot and vehicles in the area.
Saudi-backed coalition intensifies attacks after new Houthi offensive
Yemen’s civil war began in 2014, when the Houthis captured the capital Sanaa from the Saudi-backed government. They then took control of large areas of the north of the country.
Saudi Arabia joined forces against the Houthis the following year, leading an international coalition against them. But so far, Yemeni government forces have been unable to effectively repel the latest Houthi offensive.
Fighting intensified in September when the Houthis launched a lightning offensive that saw them seize Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast. The rebels also launched a blockade on Saudi energy exports to coincide with Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
New clashes are underway in several regions of the country, leading to the displacement of at least 125,000 people.
The Yemeni government has meanwhile called for a general mobilization, urging Yemenis to join the army and security forces.
Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world and remains in the grip of a vast humanitarian crisis.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery
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