Houthis shell poor residential area of Taez, killing 10 civilians

Three people were killed when the rebels shelled a home in the city's government-held Al Noor neighbourhood on Wednesday night. When volunteers rescuers arrived on the scene to help the victims, the Houthis reportedly struck at them too, killing seven of them

Powered by automated translation

ADEN // Ten civilians were killed and six others injured when Yemen’s Houthi rebels shelled a poor residential area of Taez city, a volunteer rescuer said on Thursday.

Three people were killed when the rebels shelled a home in the government-held Al Noor neighbourhood on Wednesday night. When rescuers arrived on the scene to help the victims, the Houthis struck at them too, killing seven of them, said rescuer Mohammed Azazi.

"There are no military targets in Al Noor area, and most of the residents there are poor people," Mr Azazi told The National. "But the Houthis do not discriminate between civilians and military targets, and they are targeting residential areas randomly."

Fighters loyal to Yemeni president Adrabu Mansur Hadi have maintained control of Al Noor, in western Taez city, but it is largely surrounded by areas held by the Houthis and allied renegade soldiers.

“The Houthis are besieging us to kill us and this is against all laws of humanity, but ... they do not respect these laws,” Mr Azazi said, adding that the victims of the shelling attack were all men who had left behind poor family members who would struggle to feed themselves.

Elsewhere on Thursday, loyalist sources in the coastal district of Dhubab, west of Taez city, confirmed that military reinforcements had arrived in Al Gadeeda area located on the coastal road to Mokha. It comes as pro-government forces prepare to retake the port city of Mokha, which lies 30 kilometres to the north of Dhubab.

foreign.desk@thenational.ae