Saudi-led coalition kills seven children in Yemen attack

UNICEF said that militias allied with the Saudi-led coalition fired at Houthi-held positions in the hills surrounding the Yemeni city of Taiz, killing at least seven children.

Seven children were killed in an attack on the city of Taiz last week, the United Nations’ agency for children said in a statement on Sunday.

The victims, aged between 4 and 14, were killed on Friday in an attack on the Mawiyah district, UNICEF said.

Taiz, in southern Yemen, is under siege by the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels but controlled by pro-government forces, who are supported by the military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

“This attack brings to 27 the number of children killed and injured in a recent escalation of violence near Sana and in Taiz over the past 10 days,” UNICEF said, warning the toll could be higher.

Yemen’s four-year conflict has triggered what the UN says is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with over 24 million people, more than two-thirds of the population, in need of aid.

Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed.

Clashes near Taiz

Militias allied with the Saudi-led coalition fired at Houthi-held positions in the hills surrounding the Yemeni city of Taiz.

It was the latest fighting outside the contested city, where militias allied with the Saudi-led coalition and Yemen’s internationally recognised government have been battling for years.

Coalition forces say they’ve made advances in taking Houthi-held positions.

The fighting over the past couple of days has killed at least ten coalition fighters and injured a dozen more, according to coalition-allied fighters.

On Friday, security officials in Houthi-controlled territory said a Saudi-led air raid had killed eight civilians and wounded at least four in the southwestern province of Taiz.