58 civilians dead in Yemen fighting

The air raids came as the Shiite rebels, mostly stationing on the entrances of Taiz, intensively shelled several neighborhoods in the city, apparently targeting their Saudi-backed foes loyal to exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Medics and witnesses said a total of 29 people, mostly women and children, were killed in the air raid and up to 40 others were wounded, as rescue operations continued to search for possible survivors from under the rubble. Only seven of the 20 hospitals in Taiz are reportedly still functioning.

Aden was Hadi’s last refuge before he fled into exile in neighbouring Saudi Arabia in March. A Health Ministry spokesman, Tamim Al Shami, later confirmed at least 65 dead and 50 wounded.

Plagued by chronic instability even before the latest civil war, Yemen is also home to the world’s deadliest branch of al Qaeda and a new offshoot of Islamic State.

The subsequent air strikes killed 35 people and demolished five houses in the eastern neighbourhood of Sala, from where the rebels launched their attacks.

“Patients and MSF staff are unable to reach hospitals due to the heavy fighting and airstrikes”, the statement said. Twenty-three people injured in Friday’s attack were transported to a hospital supported by Doctors Without Borders, which is also known by its French name, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Meanwhile, in the port city of Aden, witnesses on the Gold Mohur beach said a masked group of armed men led six men in orange jumpsuits with their hands tied behind their backs onto a boat on Wednesday. The barrages destroyed a power plant in the city.

Saba said Houthi forces had shot down a Saudi Apache helicopter in Jizan.

Sunni Arab countries and Yemen’s Saudi-based government see the Houthis as a proxy of Shi’ite Iran, bent on extending the Islamic Republic’s influence in the Arab world.

The conflict has claimed the lives of at least 1,900 civilians and has injured more than 4,000, according to the UN, while leaving 80 percent of Yemen population in need of humanitarian assistance. Diplomats and air groups have appealed for a ceasefire.