LONDON: The UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg on Wednesday said he condemned an attack that was launched from areas controlled by the Houthi militia in the Yemeni besieged city of Taiz on Sunday.
The internationally recognized government said an overnight attack by the Iran-backed Houthis on the Dhabab area, east of Taiz, killed at least 10 troops and wounded seven others, according to a statement carried by the official SABA news agency.
It said government troops repelled the Houthi offensive, killing at least 23 attacking militants and wounding around 30 more.
Grundberg said the attack “threatened to seriously worsen the humanitarian situation for civilians.”
He added: “I call on the parties to seize the opportunity provided by the truce extension to demonstrate full commitment to ending the prolonged conflict in Yemen and the suffering of its people, as well as engage with my office to continue discussions to meet the obligations they made under the truce.”
He said he would continue efforts to work with the parties toward reaching a comprehensive political and peaceful settlement of the conflict.
US envoy to Yemen Tim Lenderking also condemned the Houthi attack on the country’s third-largest city.
“This attack exacerbates Taiz’s humanitarian crisis and undermines the
UN truce, which has brought live-saving relief to Yemenis,” Lenderking said.
“We urge the parties to work with the UN, urgently de-escalate and choose peace,” he added.
The Houthis have imposed a siege on the government-held Taiz, the capital of the province by the same name, since March 2016. The southwestern city is the junction of two crucial highways: an east-west road leading to the coastal city of Mocha on the Red Sea, and another north-south, to Sanaa via Dhamar and Ibb provinces.
The UN brokered a truce between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government, which initially took effect in early April and was extended twice, the second time until early October. It has been the longest lull of fighting in Yemen’s war, now in its eighth year.
(With AP)
