Houthis attack besieged city in Yemen that U.N. says is at ‘grave risk’

TAIZ, Yemen — Iran-backed Houthi rebels struck a residential area in Yemen’s third-largest city on Tuesday, killing two teenage girls and renewing attention on the dangers faced by civilians in Taiz, which has been under attack and siege during the country’s escalating conflict.

The Houthis have largely encircled Taiz, cutting it off from most supply routes and putting civilians at “grave risk,” U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said Tuesday. The U.N. says the siege of the strategically important city in southwestern Yemen has left many residents without food and other necessities as prices soar.

The attack on Taiz came a day after a Houthi strike on a government military camp killed 73 recruits, the deadliest strike since the resurgence of the conflict over the summer, according to a senior Yemeni government official.

The conflict has intensified since forces from the internationally recognized government and Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes on Houthi-held Sanaa International Airport in July, shattering a 2022 ceasefire deal that largely stopped fighting in the country’s civil war.

Yemen has become a widening front in the Iran war that began in February — and the Houthis have increasingly launched attacks on Saudi Arabia because it supports Yemen’s internationally…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world