Houthi rocket attack on Taiz kills 22 civilians

Al Mukalla, Yemen: At least 22 civilians were killed and several others wounded as rockets fired by Al Houthi militants crashed into the Yemeni city of Taiz Wednesday, medics and military officials said.

The carnage comes as thousands of resistance fighters in south Yemen are set to be trained by the UAE and deployed in Aden to provide security for the strategic port city.

Saleh Bin Fareed Al Awlaki told Aden Al Ghad news site on Wednesday that the resistance’s leadership had enrolled 6,000 of its men for the crash training programme.

“The forces would run police stations in all districts,” he said, adding that 750 personnel were selected from each district.

Meanwhile, Corniche Street in Aden’s Al Buraiqa area will be renamed after UAE martyrs in recognition of their sacrifices for the country.

On Tuesday, Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi called on his people to close ranks to overcome the challenges for the sake of security and peace and shun the rhetoric of arms and alien agendas.

Addressing the advisory committee of the Riyadh Dialogue Conference he hailed the stand of the members against those trying to impose ‘a foreign agenda’ on Yemeni society.

Watch this viral video of Fareed Shawky, 7, a resident of a Taiz slum, while pleading with doctors not to "bury" him while undergoing treatment in a hospital for sharpnel wounds to the head after the rocket attack. Fareed died three days later.