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Artillery attack on a Yemen village kills at least 10 as government blames Houthi rebels

CAIRO (AP) — An artillery attack on a village in northern Yemen killed at least 10 people, including six children, and wounded more than 30 others, officials said Monday, while the government blamed Iran-backed Houthi rebels for the shelling.

The Houthis targeted a group of people gathered for iftar, the evening meal that breaks the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan, in Hajjah province, according to the information ministry. The province is mostly controlled by the Houthis, but some areas are held by Yemen’s internationally recognized government that is based in Aden.

Initial information, including a statement released by the army, stated that at least eight people were killed. The information ministry later raised the toll to 10.

The circumstances of the attack on Sunday were unclear and Houthi officials declined to comment.

Hans Grundberg, United Nations special envoy for Yemen, said in a statement that he’s “deeply concerned” by reports of the attack in Hiran district.

“Civilians must be protected at all times, in strict accordance with international humanitarian law. It is imperative that those responsible are held to account,” he added.

Fighting between the Houthis and government forces has also covered Hajjah since Yemen plunged into civil war in 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen and forced the government into exile. A Saudi-led coalition, including the United Arab Emirates, intervened the following year in an attempt to restore the government to power.

The conflict has pushed the economy to the brink of collapse and caused “severe” food insecurity in northern provinces, including Hajjah, according to the World Food Program.

The information ministry said the death toll was likely to rise and several among the wounded were in critical condition.

Iran attacks Bahrain and Kuwait following US strikes, threatens to end talks to end the war

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched drone and missile attacks Sunday targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to U.S. airstrikes that hit the Islamic Republic, and threatened a “complete halt” could come to negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks. Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf that once carried a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas, without Iran's direct oversight sparked the crossfire now gripping the region. A multinational maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Saturday that it would expand a route near Oman in the Strait of Hormuz to allow for both inbound and outbound traffic — setting up a new flashpoint with Tehran. Iran insists it alone must govern the strait after the war, upending decades of the world considering that the strait was international waters free for all, despite its sitting in Iran and Oman's territorial waters. Tehran has twice attacked vessels going through the Oman route, backed by a United Nations agency, in recent days. Early Sunday, the U.S. military’s Central Command said it struck Iranian military “surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities and minelayer capabilities” following an attack on a ship at sea early Saturday morning. That ship, the Panamanian-flagged tanker Kiku, carried crude oil for the state-run energy company of Qatar, a key negotiator between Iran and the United States.
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