Yemen front and the region
Girl and civilian killed by Houthi fire in Taiz as rival accounts clash over Riyan airport
In a short window, Taiz's siege affairs office reported a seven-year-old girl and a civilian killed by shelling and sniper fire in al-Misrakh, south of the city. The government and the Sanaa authorities traded accusations over Riyan airport, while Houthi media reported Saudi strikes on a telecoms network in Ibb. On the political track, the UN envoy wrapped up visits to London and Berlin.
Summary
- AttributedTaiz siege affairs office: two killed, including a seven-year-old girl, and five wounded by Houthi shelling and sniper fire in a single day.
- DisputedAl-Khanbashi calls the attack on Riyan airport a war crime and says there were no casualties; the Sanaa government accuses Saudi Arabia of turning it into an arms-transport base.
- AttributedHouthi media: three Saudi strikes on a telecoms network in the centre of Ba'dan district, Ibb governorate.
- ConfirmedGrundberg concludes visits to London and Berlin; the UN puts displacement since August at about 260,000, nearly half of them in Taiz.
- ConfirmedInformation Minister al-Eryani warns media against calling the Houthis Yemen's government or its armed forces.
Civilians killed in Taiz in one day, including a seven-year-old girl, plus five wounded
20:22ZEstimated number of people displaced in Yemen since early August, nearly half in Taiz
20:38ZSaudi strikes on a telecoms network in Ba'dan, Ibb, according to Houthi media
20:47ZDevelopments in this window
- DisputedHadramawt
Rival accounts of Riyan airport: civilian facility or military base
Presidential Council member and Hadramawt governor Salem al-Khanbashi inspected the damage from the Houthi attack on Riyan airport in Mukalla and called the targeting of a civilian facility a war crime. According to initial information, there were no casualties. The transport ministry of the Sanaa government, for its part, accused Saudi Arabia of turning the airport into a base for moving weapons and equipment and urged the International Civil Aviation Organization to condemn it. There is no independent account of how the airport is being used.
- AttributedIbb
Houthi media: Saudi strikes on telecoms network in Ba'dan
Al-Khabar al-Yemeni, citing local sources, said Saudi aircraft carried out three strikes on the telecoms network in the centre of Ba'dan district, Ibb governorate. The coalition has not commented. The site also cited a Sanaa health ministry toll saying the escalation had killed 155 people and wounded 407 as of October 18.
Source: alkhabaralyemeni.net - ConfirmedDiplomacy
Grundberg wraps up London and Berlin visits to push for a settlement
The office of UN envoy Hans Grundberg said he had concluded visits to London (October 19-20) and Berlin (October 15-16). He said Yemen and the region are at a critical juncture and that regional and international backing for a negotiated settlement is more urgent than ever. The UN estimates about 260,000 people have been displaced since August, nearly half in Taiz, and aid has reached about 174,000 of them.
- ConfirmedGovernment
Al-Eryani warns media against presenting the Houthis as Yemen's government
Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani warned media outlets against describing the Houthis as the Yemeni government or calling their formations the Yemeni armed forces. He said this misleads international opinion and that armed control does not confer the right to represent the state.
Source: almashhad.news - AttributedTaiz
Siege office: two killed, including a girl, and five wounded in Taiz in one day
Taiz's siege affairs office said a civilian was shot dead by a sniper outside his home in Kahlan village, al-Misrakh district, and that seven-year-old Maya Hazza was killed when her family's home in the same village was shelled. It said five people were wounded, including a three-year-old boy hit in the eye, by shelling and sniper fire in al-Misrakh and the Bir Basha neighbourhood. Yemen Monitor had earlier reported six members of one family wounded when a house in Kahlan was shelled. The Houthis have not commented.
Source: belqees.net yemenmonitor.com