Houthis say Saudi strikes on Yemen’s Taiz leave dozens of casualties
SANAA, Yemen -
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strikes → say → casualties
Saudi airstrikes on Taiz in south-west Yemen caused dozens of casualties in an area controlled by the Houthis, the Iran-backed group said on Sept 27, as fighting escalated further after a truce broke down.
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truce → cause → Sept
The Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree accused Saudi Arabia of launching two air raids that hit a market on the outskirts of the city, saying nearly 50 people were killed or wounded without specifying the exact breakdown.
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people → accuse → breakdown
The spokesman said blood was “unjustly and aggressively spilled” in a statement posted online, vowing there would be consequences for the attack.
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blood → say → attack
Earlier, the group’s Al-Masirah TV channel said a strike killed seven people and wounded 40 more at a market in Taiz, minutes after reporting that a Saudi fighter jet had targeted the area.
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jet → say → area
In a subsequent statement, the channel, citing the Houthis’ health ministry, said that five children were among those wounded.
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children → cite → those
Multiple Houthi sources later told AFP that nearly 30 fighters from the group were killed in the series of strikes, while eight civilians died.
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civilians → tell → strikes
The city itself remains under the control of government forces but has long been besieged by Houthi fighters and remains one of the main fronts in Yemen’s civil war.
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city → remain → war
Images broadcast by Al-Masirah showed vehicles with blown-out windows as well as damaged warehouses, where goods were covered in a thick layer of dust.
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goods → broadcast → dust
Following several years of relative calm, Yemen’s war reignited in July, against the backdrop of the widening Middle East war.
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war → follow → war
The country is one of the poorest in the world and remains gripped by a vast humanitarian crisis.
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country → grip → crisis
Fighting intensified in September as the Houthis launched a lightning offensive that saw them seize Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast, including the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital shipping lane.
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them → intensify → Strait
The Houthis have in parallel launched a blockade on Saudi energy exports, already choked off by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
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Houthis → launch → Hormuz
On Sept 26, Saudi Arabia said it intercepted two Houthi drones that were heading in the direction of the capital Riyadh.
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that → say → capital
Riyadh schools adopt remote learning for a week
Schools in Riyadh announced on Sept 27 that they would be shifting to remote learning for a week, without giving a reason, according to messages sent to parents and seen by AFP.
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they → adopt → AFP
“We have just been informed by Saudi authorities that schools must remain closed all week,” read two separate messages seen by AFP.
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messages → inform → AFP
There was no official reason given but the move comes amid heightened tensions in the Gulf and near-daily attacks aimed at Saudi Arabia by Iran-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen.
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move → be → Yemen
“When a decision affects an entire school community for a full week, families deserve clear communication and transparency about the reasons behind it,” one Riyadh parent, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
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who → affect → AFP
“It’s a last-minute decision.
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It → ’ → ?
We have no clue what’s happening,” a Lebanese expatriate living in Riyadh added.
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expatriate → have → Riyadh
Late on Sept 27, some schools indicated that they would be returning to in-person learning the next day.
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they → indicate → learning
Saudi officials have not officially commented publicly on the closures or on any order to return to in-person learning this week.
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officials → comment → learning
Yemen’s war erupted in 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa from the Saudi-backed government, before going on to take control of vast swaths of the country’s north.
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Houthis → erupt → north
Riyadh intervened in the war the following year at the head of an international coalition.
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Riyadh → intervene → coalition
Despite Saudi backing, Yemen’s government forces have been unable to repel the latest Houthi offensive.
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forces → repel → offensive
The Aporia
