Houthis and Yemeni Government Trade Blame Over Deadly Taiz Market Strike
Houthis accuse Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces of striking a market in Taiz, killing at least seven; the government military rejects the claim.
The Houthi movement has accused Yemeni government forces of carrying out a strike on a market in the southwestern province of Taiz, saying at least seven people were killed and dozens more wounded.
A spokesman for the Houthi-run health ministry, Anees al-Asbahi, said the attack hit shops at a market in the Mawiya intersection, in the Taiziyah district of Taiz province. He put the number of wounded at no fewer than 40, among them five children, and did not provide further details.
Footage aired by a Houthi-controlled satellite news channel showed what it described as the damaged market, along with injured people being treated inside a tent and covered bodies. In the video, people at the scene displayed damaged goods, including juice, rice, green beans and milk, saying the items were market stock rather than weapons. One injured boy was heard saying the strikes came upon them as they were heading home. The material could not be independently verified, including the dates, locations and conditions under which it was filmed.
The military of Yemen's internationally recognised government rejected the Houthi account. It said its forces had targeted Houthi "warehouses and positions" in the area as part of a broader wave of strikes across the province, hitting military supplies in northern, southern and western Taiz. The military claimed the operations left "dozens of dead and wounded" among the Houthis.
The competing accounts emerged amid heavy fighting along Yemen's western coast, where government forces have been trying to roll back recent Houthi gains by the Red Sea. Earlier this month, the Houthis routed government forces and took control of the country's strategic western coastline.