Taiz Military Axis Blames Houthis for Civilian Casualties, Denies Involvement in Sheqab Incident

Thursday 4 Jul 2024 |4 months ago
Sheqab area of Sabr al-Mawadem district

Barran Press

The Taiz Military Axis, part of the Yemeni army, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, accused the Houthi group, internationally designated as a terrorist organization, of bringing in a technical team to train on mortar and drone strikes.

The Axis, in a statement seen by Barran Press, stated that "due to the training activities conducted by the Houthi group, some shells reached neighboring areas, some of which did not detonate."

The Axis described the incident as "criminal" and attributed it to "failures in the Houthis' projectiles, resulting in their falling on a house in the vicinity of Habour, causing eight casualties, including fatalities and injuries."

The Axis condemned the "heinous crime," holding the Houthi group "fully responsible for the crime," which it said resulted in the death and injury of eight innocent civilians.

The Axis asserted that the group's attempt to disavow the crime "cannot fool anyone," noting that it had followed the group's media outlets' accusations against the national army for targeting civilians in the Sheqab area of Sabr al-Mawadem district.

The Taiz Axis categorically denied the Houthis' media claims, emphasizing that the national army "did not carry out any combat operations in the aforementioned area today, and its combat operations in all fronts are limited to responding to sources of fire in accordance with the rules of engagement that regulate the ceasefire and international efforts to achieve peace in Yemen."

Earlier in the day, local sources reported the death and injury of eight civilians, including women and children, in a shelling by Houthi militants, internationally designated as a terrorist organization, targeting Sabr district, southeast of Taiz governorate, southwestern Yemen.

According to the official Yemeni news agency Saba, Houthi militants shelled the Sheqab area in Sabr district, killing and injuring eight civilians, including women and children.

Saba explained that "a man and two children" were killed, while five women and children were injured in "Habour village in the Sheqab area," noting that the injured were transported to a hospital for treatment.

Last Saturday, July 6, Houthi militants, internationally designated as a terrorist organization, launched artillery shelling targeting villages and populated areas west of Taiz governorate. The Houthis continue their indiscriminate artillery shelling of villages in the Dhabab area from their positions in Al-Sittin and Al-Rubaie.

According to the official agency, "the shelling caused significant material damage to citizens' homes and property, in addition to spreading panic and fear among the population, especially women and children."

In recent weeks, the Houthis have renewed their shelling of civilians in several governorates, including Ma'rib and Taiz, coinciding with their military movements that came days after successful initiatives to open main roads in the two governorates, which the group had been blocking for years, preventing the movement of civilians.

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