A sign that the violence in the city is coming to a halt, at least for now, Yemeni troops are reportedly withdrawing from Taiz en masse, capping a week of attacks on protesters and residential neighborhoods.
No official explanation has been given for withdrawing the troops, but it comes in the wake of claims in the state-run media that members of General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar’s command, which they termed “terrorists,” had begun entering the city. Ahmar’s troops have often deployed in an effort to protect civilian protesters.
The attacks against Taiz killed dozens of protesters, and shelling against neighborhoods also caused a large number of civilian injuries.
Red Cross officials say that the death toll was higher than it needed to be, saying that the troops in the city had prevented ambulances from taking the wounded to the hospital in a timely manner and that they had targeted medical facilities “on several occasions.”