Cairo, Sept 27. (dpa/GNA) – At least seven people were killed and 40 others injured, in an airstrike on the Yemeni province of Taiz, Houthi rebels said on Sunday, with the Saudi Air Force reported to have struck a shopping area around the central market of Taiz.
The Houthi television channel Al-Masirah, reported the strike, showing footage of large plumes of smoke and a destroyed warehouse stacked with food in cardboard boxes. The claims could not be independently verified.
The Houthi health ministry accused the Saudi Air Force of committing an “abominable crime,” saying it was directly and deliberately targeting civilian sites in Taiz.
Troops loyal to the internationally recognized government in Yemen, said their air force had struck a Houthi depot and vehicles in the area. The government forces are backed by Saudi Arabia.
On Saturday, they had already reported strikes on Houthi fighters and weapons depots in the east and south of the strategically important province. Fighting is under way in several parts of the country.
The civil war in Yemen has escalated sharply again in the wake of the war with Iran. At least 125,000 people have been displaced by the renewed fighting, which is also taking place in the highlands near the important Bab al-Mandab (Gate of Tears) strait.
The government called for a general mobilization, urging Yemenis to join the army and security forces.
An amnesty was offered to Houthi fighters who lay down their arms and leave the militia.
The Houthis said Saudi Arabia had carried out around two dozen further strikes in Yemen within 24 hours, and more than 1,000 such strikes since the start of the new escalation.
Saudi Arabia has also been facing new attacks since the latest Houthi advance.
The Saudi civil defence authority issued new warnings in recent days for Khamis Mushait and Abha in the south, reportedly due to new strikes by the Iranian-allied Houthis. Saudi Arabia also appears keen to publicly highlight its new alliance with nuclear power Pakistan and Turkey, whose militaries rank among the strongest in the Middle East.
Military chiefs from the three countries met in Riyadh on Friday to discuss the current threat to Saudi Arabia.
Their Mecca defence pact contains a mutual defence clause under which an attack on one party, is considered an attack on all.
So far, however, neither Pakistan nor Turkey has actively entered the Yemen war.
GNA