Rockets fired by Shiite rebels killed at least 18 civilians and 13 anti-rebel fighters in the southern city of Aden, where fierce fighting has been raging for months, the director of Aden’s health services said Wednesday.
The United Nations declared its highest level of humanitarian emergency in Yemen, where 80 percent of the population needs assistance. United Nations officials have said the country is one step away from famine. The United Nations deputy spokesman, Farhan Haq, said United Nations agencies had agreed to declare a Level 3 humanitarian emergency in Yemen on Wednesday. The fighting in Yemen pits the Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, and allied troops loyal to a former president against southern separatists, local and tribal militias, Sunni Islamic militants and loyalists of the exiled current president. The rebels seized the capital in September, and a coalition led by Saudi Arabia began airstrikes against them in March.
SOURCE: The Associated Press
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