The Iran-backed Houthi militias kicked off Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Yemen by committing more crimes in violation of the fragile calm that had prevailed in the country and that had given hope that the militants would agree to a permanent peace roadmap sought by Saudi Arabia and Oman.
The Houthis shelled civilian areas in the western countryside of the Taiz province, killing three civilians, including a child, and wounding nine others.
Local and medical sources identified the child as 12-year-old Najwa Hassan Moqbel Bshaj and the two other victims as Mohammed Abdulbaset al-Habishi and his sister Mariam, reported the Saba news agency.
The wounded suffered various injuries, some serious, added the sources. They are being treated in Mokha city. The sources warned that the death toll from the shelling could rise.
Saba said the attack is part of the daily crimes committed by the terrorist Houthis to “thwart local and regional peace efforts and continue to spill the blood of Yemenis.”
Meanwhile, the Houthis blew up three houses in the Sirwah district in the Marib province on Friday, which was the first day of Eid, revealed a local rights group.
The “Mousawat” rights and freedoms group said the Houthis blew up the homes of Saleh bin Saleh al-Dawla, Abdullah Saleh al-Dawla, and Saleh Nasser al-Dawla al-Jahmy in al-Zour village in Marib.
In a statement, it revealed that the latest attack brought to nine the total number of houses blown up by the Houthis since mid-February as part of their systematic terrorization and forced displacement of opponents.