Civilians 'killed shopping' by Saudi-led coalition airstrike in Taiz

A new strike by the Saudi-led coalition kills eight civilians in a shop near Taiz, as the fight for the city continues.

2 min read

30 May, 2017

One on three coalition airstrikes hit civilian targets. Here a school in Sada'a [picture Getty]

An airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition hit a shop in al-Arish neighbourhood, in the province of Taiz, on Sunday night, leaving eight civilians dead and more wounded.

People prepared to break fasting on the second day of Ramadan, and the shop was packed with customers when it was hit. Local media reports that victims were still under the rubble as of Monday morning.

Also on Monday, forces loyal to the internationally recognised President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi stormed into the Houthi-held Republican Palace in Taiz.

The fight for the strategic location began on Friday, and led to casualties on both sides according to local reports.

Taiz is one of the bloodiest battlefields of the conflict in Yemen. Daily fighting, shelling and bombing result in dozens of civilian casualties.

In just one day last week, a hospital operated by the medical NGO Doctors Without Borders received 57 war-wounded, two thirds of which were women and children.

	Read More: Yemen: scores of civilians massacred in Taiz

The death toll in Yemen has surpassed 10,000 deaths, two thirds of which by coalition airstrikes according to the UN.

The capital is currently gripped by a cholera epidemic which has already killed 471 people.

Some 17 million also lack adequate food, with one third of the country's provinces on the brink of famine.