Houthis attack Yemeni army positions west of Taiz. Do Houthis close the city’s only outlet?
As part of its continued violations of the UN-brokered truce, Iran-backed Houthi terrorist militias early Thursday attacked positions of the National Army forces around Mount Han, west of Taiz, in an attempt to cut the fog line.
Yemen ShababNet quoted military sources as saying: “Violent clashes erupted at 1 a.m. on Thursday between the army and Houthi militias on the Mount Han front, west of Taiz city, following an attack by militias on army positions”.
The only outlet
The Houthi attack came as an extension of the militias’ desperate attempts to cut off the “fog” line, the only access to the city of Taiz, and to complete the siege imposed on it, in an open rejection of all international calls to lift the siege imposed on the city for eight years, according to the sources.
The Houthi offensive comes a day after militias launched a similar assault on army positions at Ghorab Front, across a recently established line to the west of the city.
During the eight years of siege by Houthi terrorist militias, Yemenis, vehicles and trucks loaded with goods are moving very carefully and slowly across a rough and unpaved mountain road, out of the Houthi-besieged city of Taiz in southwestern Yemen.
At the end of May, the Euro-Mediterranean Observatory for Human Rights called on parties to the conflict in Yemen to work urgently to end the siege of Taiz and take all possible steps to alleviate the suffering of the millions living there, ReliefWeb reported.
The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory stressed that the difficult humanitarian conditions in Taiz require that priority be given to lifting the siege during the ongoing talks, especially in light of the continuation of the truce and the implementation of some of its articles, such as the cessation of military operations and the first commercial flight from Sanaa International Airport in six years.
At the beginning of April 2022, the United Nations announced a truce agreement for a period of two months, renewable, between the legitimate government and the Houthi militias supported by Iran. The truce includes two commercial flights via Sanaa International Airport every week, allowing the entry of oil derivative ships to the port of Hodeidah, and opening the blockaded roads of Taiz and the rest of the governorates.
A few hours before the end of the ceasefire, the UN announced earlier this month that both sides in Yemen’s conflict had agreed to extend the truce for two more months, but Houthi abuses continue. The United Nations is currently holding consultations with the parties to the Yemeni crisis to discuss the possibility of extending the truce, which is scheduled to end on August 2, for an additional six months.
