Sanaa: At least 11 civilians, including women and children, were killed when a ballistic missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck their house in Yemen’s central province of Marib, security officials said Friday.
The casualties belonged to the family of a key tribal leader and lived in the residential neighbourhood of Al-Aumd. At least another 11 houses were damaged and 16 civilians were wounded in Thursday’s attack, according to the officials, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorised to brief the media.
The Houthis have for years attempted to take oil-rich Marib to complete their control over the northern half of Yemen. In recent months, they accelerated their push. The fighting has claimed a high number of fighters from both sides in the past several weeks.
The conflict has resulted in some 154 civilian injuries and deaths during the first six months of 2021, according to the United Nations refugee agency. So far, June was considered the deadliest month, with 35 civilians, including children, killed in shelling and missile attacks, said UNHRC.
The war has also displaced around 170,000 people who used to live in and around the city and the surrounding province, also called Marib, as well as two nearby provinces, since the beginning of 2020, the UN said.
Yemen has been convulsed by civil war since 2014 when the Houthis captured the capital, Sanaa, and much of the north of the country, forcing the internationally recognized government to flee to the south, then to Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi-led coalition entered the war in March 2015, backed by the United States, to try restore the government to power. Despite a relentless air campaign and ground fighting, the war has deteriorated largely into a stalemate and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
AP
