Fierce clashes between rebels and pro-Government forces killed dozens across south Yemen on Saturday, threatening to derail a humanitarian ceasefire drawn up to bring vital aid to the war-wracked country.
The five-day truce initiated by a Saudi-led coalition that has bombarded the Iran-backed rebels for more than six weeks expires late Sunday, and Riyadh has already warned it was “ready to act” against any ceasefire violations.
In the latest violence, at least 12 civilians were killed when the Shia Houthi rebels shelled several neighbourhoods in Yemen’s third city of Taiz, an official there told AFP.
Fighting overnight killed 26 rebels — Houthis backed by militiamen loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh - as well as 14 pro-Government forces, military sources said.
The United Nations has expressed deep concern about the civilian death toll from the Saudi-led bombing as well as the humanitarian impact of an air and sea blockade imposed by the coalition.
It says more than 1,500 people have died in the conflict since late March.
Some aid has begun to trickle into Yemen since the pause in fighting, but residents of areas where clashes persist complain they remain without the most basic supplies.
The fighting in Taiz overnight forced many to flee to neighbouring countryside.
“Humanitarian aid hasn’t reached Taiz, where we haven’t received fuel, food or medical equipment,” the Government official in the city said.
The United Nations has called for the Saudi-led coalition to simplify import inspections after warning vital commercial goods and aid were still blocked.
UN coordinator Johannes van der Klaauw warned that the inspections, introduced under an arms embargo slapped on the Houthi rebels last month, were hampering access for vital goods.