Eight Yemenis killed in bombing at qat market in Marib city

It comes just two months after another qat market in the city was hit by a bombing.

The mosque pictured above was destroyed during fighting between pro-government forces and the Houthis in Taez province's Al Sarari area on July 26, 2016. Reuters

ADEN // Eight Yemeni civilians were killed and 15 others injured on Wednesday in a bombing that struck a crowded qat market on the outskirts of Marib city.

As of Wednesday night, no group had claimed responsibility for the attack.

The bomb went off at 11am local time when the market was full of visitors, Mohammed Al Gadasi, a journalist based in Marib city told The National. Qat markets around the country are at their busiest during the morning until early afternoon

This latest incident comes after another qat market in Marib city was hit by a bombing in May. Shortly after that incident, Marib province’s intelligence services arrested a group of people working for the Houthis, including women, who were moving explosive devices from the capital, Sanaa, to Marib province.

“The residents of Marib accuse the Houthi rebels of targeting the qat market, as they are trying hard to create chaos in the liberated areas of Marib [province],” said Al Gadasi. Marib city is under the control of pro-government forces, but the Houthis still control Sirwah district, west of the city.

Al Gadasi said Yemenis living in liberated areas of Marib resumed their normal lives after pro-government forces pushed out the Houthis last October, and that basic commodities are now available in the markets.

But, he added, while the Shiite rebels remain in control of Sirwah, Marib city and the rest of the province cannot be considered stable.

In Taez, meanwhile, where pro-government forces are battling the Houthis for control of the provincial capital, loyalists took control of Al Sirari — an area south-east of Taez city — on Tuesday morning, arresting many Houthi supporters.

Following the capture of Al Sirari, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, James McGoldrick, urged all warring parties to agree immediately to a “humanitarian pause” in Taez province to protect civilians.

Speaking on Wednesday he voiced alarm at the increasing bloodshed in the province and the effective closure of Taez city, which has been sealed off by the rebels on three sides.

* With additional reporting by Reuters