Rockets fired by the Shi’ite Houthis against neighborhoods held by pro-Saudi forces hit a marketplace in Taiz today, killing 17 civilians and wounding at least 30 others, according to local medical officials.
The city of Taiz, between the capital city of Sanaa and the “temporary” capital of pro-Saudi forces in Aden, has been one of several fronts in central Yemen during the Saudi war, with the city the site of a number of incidents causing large civilian casualties on both sides.
Neither side has traded much ground inside Taiz in recent months, however, and it seems to be, as with so many other places along the front-line, just another stalemate, only one that is calamitously right in the middle of a densely populated city.
Pro-Saudi officials presented the attack as “crimes against humanity,” accusing the Houthis of killing 212 civilians since the ceasefire began in April. That is dramatically more than has been reported in the media, though the UN has confirmed both sides killing civilians at an alarming rate.