UAE-backed militants kill six, abduct four in attack on Yemeni mosque

Militants backed by the United Arab Emirates have killed six Yemeni worshippers and abducted four others in an attack on a mosque in the southern province of Dhale.

News ID: 445301

Date: 09 June 2019 - 11:03

RNA - The purpose behind the Friday attack is not clear yet, Yemen's al-Masirah TV reported, quoting local sources.

Dhale province, where the mosque is located, has come under intensified attacks by the Saudi-led coalition and their mercenaries as the forces of the Ansarullah-led government, known as the National Salvation Government, have been retaking large swathes of the province from the aggressors.

On the same day, the coalition forces and their mercenaries also launched artillery attacks on residential areas in al-Hali district of the port city of Hudaydah, killing three Yemenis, including a little girl.

The attacks were yet another violation of the Hudaydah ceasefire agreement between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi Ansarullah movement, which was reached in the Swedish capital of Stockholm in December 2018.

The Ansarullah movement has repeatedly complained about Saudi Arabia’s repeated violation of the ceasefire in Hudaydah. The city serves as a lifeline for millions of Yemenis who are facing the threat of famine due to Saudi airstrikes and siege of the country.

Based on the UN-brokered ceasefire, the Houthis unilaterally withdrew their forces from the key ports of Salif, Ras Isa, and Hudaydah; however, the other side to the conflict has not carried out its end of the bargain.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates launched the Hudaydah offensive in June 2018 but have been facing strong resistance from Yemeni armed forces, led by the Houthis, as well as the city’s residents.

Hudaydah has seen some of the heaviest fighting in the Saudi-led war, which Riyadh began in March 2015. The imposed war initially consisted of an aerial campaign but was later compounded by a naval blockade and the deployment of mercenaries to Yemen.

Yemen is going through the worst humanitarian crisis since 2015.

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