GENEVA (Sputnik) – The Yemeni capital of Sana’a saw intensified airstrikes overnight, and the death toll of the clashes has already reached 234 people, Soumaya Beltifa, the International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC] representative in Sana’a told Sputnik on Tuesday.
"The latest numbers of ICRC are 400 wounded and 234 dead," Beltifa said.
According to the ICRC representative, the situation is "really tense."
Clashes in the Yemeni capital #Sanaa have killed at least 234 people and wounded 400 since December 1th#Yemen
— Mete Sohtaoğlu (@metesohtaoglu) 5 декабря 2017 г.
📸 #AFP,#AA pic.twitter.com/q9AcHzwuoB
"We are following the situation, but so far we cannot confirm if the casualties were because of the airstrikes. But we were hearing the airstrikes, because we are in Sana'a. It was very intense yesterday night. They started again around 8 o'clock, then we lost counting of airstrikes, they were too many. They kept coming until around 2 o'clock in the morning. It was a very tense night," the official added.
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On Monday, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen Jamie McGoldrick urged the parties to the conflict in Yemen to enable a humanitarian pause on Tuesday.
Earlier on Monday, Houthi rebels announced the assassination of the countries President Ali Abdullah Saleh by publishing a video through the official television channel showing the bloody body of the former leader of Yemen.
In the summer of 2014, large-scale anti-government protests organized by the Houthis began in Yemen, which continued with clashes with the security forces. In early 2015, Houthis armed groups seized the capital of Sana'a and a significant territory of the country.
On March 23 2015, Saudi Arabia announced that the Gulf States will take measures to protect the region from the "aggression" of the Houthis. The UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan and Pakistan joined the kingdom. The Saudi-backed coalition supports the overthrown President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
On March 26, the international coalition launched an air operation in the city of Yemen, "The Storm of Determination".
Airstrikes were conducted on the groups of Houthis, their camps, equipment and infrastructure in Yemen.
