Attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi militias against residential neighborhoods in the central Yemeni city of Marib on Sunday have sparked widespread public outrage in Yemen and drew US and international condemnation.
On Sunday, three ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis hit Marib city, killing three children and wounding more than 30 people. The missiles targeted the Al-Rawada neighborhood, which is hosting thousands of internally displaced people.
The Houthi bombing coincided with ground attacks launched by the militias in the southern and western parts of the oil-rich Marib governorate.
The Yemeni army and popular resistance forces continued to repel the Houthi attacks with the support of the Saudi-led Arab coalition.
The US embassy in Yemen strongly condemned the “terrible” attack by the Houthis and demanded the militias work on achieving peace in Yemen.
“The Houthis only confirm their savagery with such attacks. They must abandon this aggression against their fellow Yemenis and seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict,” Cathy Westley, Charge d’Affaires for the US embassy to Yemen, said in a brief statement.
“Attacks on civilians including children are a violation of international humanitarian law,” said a statement by UNICEF regional director Ted Chaiban.
“UNICEF calls on those fighting in Marib and across Yemen and those with influence over them to protect children,” Chaiban added in the statement.
“Children must be spared at all times, including and especially during conflict.”
“Since the violence returned to Yemen in 2015, nearly 10,000 children were confirmed killed or injured,” he noted.
The Yemeni Human Rights Ministry condemned the Houthi bombing, calling on “the UN Special Envoy for Yemen and all international bodies and organizations concerned with human rights, to assume their responsibilities in stopping humanitarian crimes against civilians in Marib.”
