Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has stressed that the city of Taiz and all other Yemeni governorates and cities will be liberated soon from the rebel Houthi militia and forces loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, which, Hadi said, has been “hysterically” murdering women and children and destroying schools, mosques and residential areas in Taiz City using medium and heavy weapons.
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Of those killed, 11 were civilians and the rest were fighters from both sides.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement on Friday that checkpoints run by fighters affiliated with the Houthis are exacerbating “the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation” in Taez. The country is bleeding and its cities collapsing.
“The situation in Taiz is particularly dire, even by the standards of the appalling conditions all over Yemen, with the almost half of the hospitals closed and streams of wounded people desperate for treatment”, Grand said.
Taiz’s civilian population is bearing the brunt of the siege as they struggle to meet their most basic needs, including potable water.
The Saudi-led coalition has gained ground in southern Yemen.
The leader of pro-government forces in Taez, Moa’ath Al Yaseri, said there are many residents who want to join the fight against the Houthis.
Yemen has been embroiled in fighting between Shiite rebels and allied army units against forces loyal to the internationally recognized government as well as southern separatists and other militants.
“This shipment is critical to save lives”, he said.
At least 40 people were killed, including several fishermen, when Saudi-led coalition strikes hit two Yemeni islands on the Red Sea overnight, several locals said on Saturday.
He added that the negotiations would be held on the basis of a framework stipulated by the Security Council in a resolution adopted in April, calling for the withdrawal of Houthis from territory and government institutions they had seized.
Briefing the Security Council, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed portrayed a bleak picture of the Gulf state.
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Several previous attempts at peace talks have failed, with the Houthis resisting calls to withdraw from areas they control and both sides raising preconditions.
