Shelling kills three children in Taiz

Unicef appeals to Al Houthi rebels to spare children from their attacks in the war-torn country

Shelling of residential districts in Yemen’s third largest city of Taiz has killed three children and severely wounded nine others, the UN children’s agency Unicef and witnesses said yesterday.

Witnesses told AFP mortar rounds were fired on Friday by Al Houthi rebels from positions they control in Taiz into two residential neighbourhoods, Al Deba and AlSameel, in an area held by government forces.

Unicef said on Twitter that the shelling in Taiz had killed three children and wounded nine.

“Horrible day for Children in #Taiz: 3 children killed and 9 severely injured during a shelling attack in AlDeba & AlSameel,” the tweet said.

The agency said children should not be a target in Yemen, where government forces backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition have been battling Shiite rebels for more than two years.

More than 8,000 people have been killed, including at least 1,500 children, and millions displaced in the conflict which has pushed the impoverished country to the brink of famine. The UAE has continued its humanitarian aid and relief efforts to alleviate the suffering of people in Yemen and improve their living conditions.

As part of these efforts, the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) has distributed 4,000 food baskets to underprivileged families in the Jardan District of the Shabwah Governorate.

Mohammad Saif Al Muhairi, head of the ERC team in Shabwah, said that the ERC is working to help improve the living conditions of individuals in the Shabwah Governorate through its humanitarian aid programme.

The beneficiaries expressed their gratitude on receiving the UAE’s assistance.

A cholera outbreak has also claimed the lives of more than 1,800 people since April, with 400,000 suspected cases across the country, according to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The United Nations warned in July that 80 per cent of Yemen’s children desperately needed aid in what the organisation has called the “largest humanitarian crisis in the world”.