The Yemeni government said on Friday that its forces were investigating shells in Taiz suspected of containing "toxic substances", allegedly used by the Iran-backed Houthis, after authorities received reports of suffocation and loss of consciousness.
Taiz, in south-western Yemen, was largely under the control of the internationally recognised government until the Houthis began waging battles in recent weeks, aiming to capture the city and the wider province. The rebels put the city under siege.
Government troops were "treating with the utmost seriousness field reports from the front lines in Taiz concerning the use by the Houthi militia of shells suspected of containing toxic substances", a statement said. The shells "reportedly caused cases of suffocation and loss of consciousness among civilians and members of the Popular Resistance", it added.
Government forces "warned the Houthi militia against further attacks on civilians or the use of any prohibited weapons", stressing that "protecting civilians and breaking the siege of Taiz remained a fundamental responsibility of the state and its armed forces".
A Yemeni source in Taiz told The National there have been reports of "some suffocation cases due to the use of toxic substances", but that it was hard to determine what happened exactly.
Last year, Moammar Eryani, Yemen’s Minister of Information, accused the Houthis of manufacturing chemical weapons from smuggled components. He told The National that his assessment was based on intelligence from several sources, marking the first direct accusation of its kind from a Yemeni government official.
The National contacted the office of the UN special envoy to Yemen, as well as US and UK entities involved in Yemen policy, about the accusations but did not receive a response.
