Cairo: Four Yemeni children were killed when an explosive device, planted by Iran-aligned Al Houthi extremists, went off in the western province of Hodeida, local sources said on Tuesday.
The explosion took place Monday in Hodeida’s district of Al Hays, injuring two other children, the sources added, according to Al Arabiya. All the victims were from the same family. They were playing when the rocket-shaped device exploded.
The sources expressed concern about more such explosions in the area and elsewhere after recent heavy rains exposed landmines previously planted by Al Houthis as part of their years-long conflict with the government.
The Yemeni government and rights groups have accused Al Houthis of planting thousands of landmines in residential areas, causing many civilian deaths, especially off Hodeida’s western coast. The implementation of a UN-brokered pact for peace in Hodeida, signed last December, has stymied over Al Houthis’ recalcitrance.
Al Houthis plunged Yemen in war in late 2014 when they toppled the country’s internationally recognised government and seized parts of the impoverished country including the capital Sana’a and Hodeida.
An Arab alliance, co-led by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are fighting the extremists in Yemen upon a request from its government.
