Yemen: Houthis attack residential area in Taiz – more than 250,000 displaced
Two girls killed, six people wounded: the government-held city is almost surrounded. UN human rights chief Volker Türk warns of growing hardship.
Archive image · Photo: Anas Al-Hajj / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Houthi fighters attacked a residential area of the Yemeni city of Taiz on Tuesday, killing two teenage girls and wounding six people, the US news programme Democracy Now reported. Yemen’s third-largest city is held by the Saudi-backed government but, according to the report, is almost completely surrounded and cut off from most supply routes. “Taiz city is now besieged by the Houthis,” resident Saeed Ahmed said.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk warned of serious danger as food becomes scarcer and more expensive. According to the UN Refugee Agency, more than 250,000 Yemenis have been displaced since fighting resumed in July.
The death toll from a Houthi missile strike on a government training camp in the south of the country has risen to 73, according to Democracy Now. Britain said it will increase its military support for Saudi Arabia.