The News
Thursday 26 of December 2024

Clashes with Rebels in Yemen's Besieged City of Taiz Kill 45


YEMEN
YEMEN
The medical officials said Friday that most of the 45 killed over the past 24 hours died in airstrikes

Yemeni medical officials say clashes between Shiite rebels and local fighters in the besieged city of Taiz have intensified, killing at least 45 on both sides over the past 24 hours.

FILE - This Oct. 2008 file photo shows Imam Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born Yemeni cleric and recruiter for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, in Yemen. Born in New Mexico, al-Awlaki has used his personal website to encourage Muslims around the world to kill U.S. troops in Iraq and has emerged as a prominent and has been tied by U.S. intelligence to the 9/11 hijackers, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab the underwear bomber, as well as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people in November at Fort Hood, Texas. (AP Photo/Muhammad ud-Deen, File) MANDATORY CREDIT NO SALES
Imam Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born Yemeni cleric and recruiter for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, in Yemen. Photo: AP/Muhammad ud-Deen, File.

The city has seen heavy fighting between rebels known as Houthis and local resistance units financed and armed by the Saudi-led coalition that is backing Yemen’s internationally recognized government. The local fighters have been advancing and have taken control of Taiz’s western outskirts.

The medical officials said Friday that most of the 45 killed over the past 24 hours died in airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Un yemení inspecciona un asilo de ancianos luego de ser atacado por hombres armados en Adén, Yemen, el viernes 4 de marzo de 2016. (Foto AP/Wael Qubady)
A soldier inspects a hospital after an attack in Adan, Yemen. Photo: AP/Wael Qubady.

The Houthis have besieged Taiz, widely known as Yemen’s cultural center, for over a year now.