Houthis attack city in Yemen that UN says is at ‘grave risk’ – National– globalnews.ca

Iran-backed Houthi rebels struck a residential area in Yemen’s third-largest city on Tuesday, killing two teenage girls and renewed attention to the dangers faced by civilians in Taiz, which has been under attack and siege during the country’s escalating conflict.

The Houthis have largely encircled Taiz and cut off most supply routes from government-held areas, putting civilians at “grave risk,” U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said Tuesday. The U.N. says the siege has sent prices soaring, leaving many residents without food and other necessities.

Also on Tuesday, a senior Yemeni government official said the death toll from a Houthi missile strike a day earlier on a government military camp rose to 73 people, making it the deadliest strike since the resurgence of the conflict over the summer.

The conflict has only intensified since forces from the internationally recognized government and Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes on Houthi-held Sanaa International Airport in July, shattering a 2022 ceasefire deal that largely stopped fighting in the country’s civil war.