Attack on market in besieged Yemeni city kills dozens

Airstrikes killed more than 30 people at a busy Friday market located in the Taiz province of Yemen, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis for more than a million people trapped living under a month-long siege.

The Associated Press called the 6 November strikes on the al-Waziyah market "one of the deadliest attacks" in renewed warfare between Houthi militants and Yemen's government forces that began in September.

The two groups pointed at the other for blame: Yemen's Colonel Majed al-Nasili called it "a war crime" by the rebel group, while the Houthis suggested it was Saudi Arabia who was "systematic[ally] targeting" civilians in the strikes. (Saudi Arabia hasn't publicly commented on the deadly attack.)

Worsening conditions

The attack only deepens a precarious situation in Taiz, where more than a million people are struggling to live safely while war battles continue in the outskirts and strikes come from above.

The Houthi militants hold most of the Taiz province, news organizations and independent researchers say, but the city of Taiz remains under government control.

And, so, the Houthis are currently surrounding the country's third largest city as part of a siege that has been effectively held for at least a month.

International humanitarian aid groups say the blockade is leading to shortages of essentials, water, and medicine for civilians.

Hospitals are struggling and rubbish is piling up as tens of thousands of displaced people shelter in the city.

“Taiz has become the epicenter of the crisis and every day the siege goes on risks more civilian deaths," Islamic Relief's country director Saaid Omar said in a 5 November statement. "Conditions in the city are getting worse every day. Food, medicine and clean water are running out, and cholera is spreading as waste piles up in the streets and people have no choice but to drink unsafe water. The price of basic supplies is rapidly rising out of reach for most people."

"Conditions are particularly acute" in Taiz, the International Medical Corps said in a report on 5 November.

"Road closures, rising transport costs, and disrupted supply routes" are creating a hunger crisis for some "vulnerable" groups like premature babies.

The International Red Cross announced this week it successfully delivered trucks of medical supplies to hospitals in Taiz "that have long been under strain and are now facing extreme pressure due to ongoing fighting."