Houthi shelling kills 8 in Yemen's Shabwa-Xinhua

Houthi shelling kills 8 in Yemen's Shabwa

Source: Xinhua

Editor: huaxia

2022-01-06 03:18:45

ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- A total of eight people were killed Wednesday when members of the Houthi group shelled a residential building in the country's southern province of Shabwa, a military official told Xinhua.

"The Houthis randomly shelled a residential building belonging to the chief of the local authority in Usaylan district of Shabwa, where intense fighting is still taking place," the local military source said on condition of anonymity.

Eight people were killed and several others injured as a result of the shelling, he said.

The Houthi shelling coincided with the presence of senior pro-government military leaders and tribal figures who were gathering inside the residential building, he added.

Most of the military leaders survived the Houthi shelling unharmed while their bodyguards died, according to the official.

The shelling attack comes as ferocious fighting is still going on between the government forces backed by Saudi Arabia and the Houthi militia in the western part of Shabwa.

Scores were either killed or injured during the non-stop armed confrontations raging over the control of key areas in Shabwa, which includes a number of oil fields, according to the source.

The Iran-backed Houthis made substantial advances on the battlefield in September 2021, capturing Bayhan and other key areas in Shabwa after seizing al-Bayda and most areas of Marib.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since the Houthi militia overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa, in 2014.

Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthis forced him into exile. Enditem