Houthis shell Yemen's western Taiz, forcing people to flee

Residents of villages and displacement camps in western Taiz province in southwestern Yemen were forced to flee their homes Thursday after Houthi artillery shelling targeted residential areas, state media reported.

The Saba News Agency said villages in Maqbanah district and the Al-Kadahah area witnessed a wave of displacement that included internally displaced people’s camps, without providing a specific number of those who fled.

The displacement followed sustained Houthi artillery fire on residential areas, triggering fear among civilians, according to the report.

In Al-Wazi’iyah district, the Houthis targeted Karim School with a missile while classes were underway, Saba reported.

The attack damaged the school but caused no casualties, it said.

There was no immediate Houthi comment on the report.

Military escalation was also reported across Taiz on Thursday, including ballistic missile and drone attacks and ground clashes in Al-Kadahah, Maqbanah and Mawza districts in the western part of the province.

The escalation is among the most significant rounds of fighting in Taiz since the 2022 UN-brokered truce, amid UN warnings over the risk of Yemen sliding back into a wider conflict.

The Houthis have controlled the capital Sanaa and other cities since September 2014, while the internationally recognized government and allied forces control large areas in the south, east and west of the country.