Middle East

More than 50 people die in fighting in Yemen over weekend

Food supplies blocked in Taiz, leaving thousands in extreme hunger, say relief workers

Yemenis play the victims of air strikes in a performance during a protest in front of the UN offices in Sana’a, Yemen on Sunday against ongoing Saudi-led military operations in the country. Photograph: Yahya Arhab/EPA.

Mon Nov 9 2015 - 01:00

More than 50 people were killed in Yemen at the weekend in fighting that pits an Arab coalition against Houthi fighters backed by troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, medical sources and residents said.

In Taiz, medical sources said 29 people, including eight civilians, were killed in clashes in Yemen’s third largest city, where relief workers said fighting has blocked food supplies and left thousands of people in extreme hunger.

About 30 people were killed in fighting in Damt district in Dhalea governorate in the south, residents said.

At least 5,600 people have been killed in seven months of war in Yemen, the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula. The United Nations says the humanitarian situation, exacerbated by the Arab coalition's blockade of Yemeni ports, grows worse every day.

READ MORE

The conflict pits the Iran-allied Houthis and army units loyal to Saleh against armed groups who support exiled president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi alongside a Saudi-led Arab coalition.

All major combatants have publicly agreed to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2216, but peace efforts have made only limited progress. – (Reuters)

LATEST STORIES