2 children killed, 3 civilians wounded in Houthi attacks in Yemen’s Taiz: Rights group

Two children were killed, three civilians wounded and four people abducted in Houthi attacks in Yemen’s southwestern Taiz province over 24 hours, a rights group said Saturday.

In a statement, the Yemen Network for Rights and Freedoms said it had “documented 21 crimes and violations by the Houthis over the past 24 hours in Taiz governorate,” including the firing of around 213 projectiles at residential areas.

“Three civilians, including two women, sustained various injuries, while four other residents were abducted and taken to unknown locations,” the group said.

The network also accused the Houthis of continuing their siege and restrictions on civilian movement and the delivery of essential supplies.

It said the Houthis raided and looted three homes in the al-Hujariya area south of Taiz and damaged seven others, including two that were completely destroyed.

The rights group called on the international community to “take action to protect Taiz residents from repeated shelling and the siege,” warning that residents and health facilities were becoming less able to cope with the crisis.

The Houthis did not immediately comment on the allegations.

The developments come amid a military escalation that began in July, described as the most extensive since the relative calm following a truce launched in April 2022.

Since Oct. 5, Yemeni government forces have been conducting Operation Dawn of Yemen, which Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi said aims to regain control of state institutions from the Houthis and recapture the capital, Sanaa.

Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized Sanaa and several other provinces in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.

The Houthis control much of northern and western Yemen, while government forces and their allies hold Aden and large parts of the country’s southern and eastern provinces.