According to Yemeni government officials, shelling by Houthi rebels Sunday hit a prison for women in a southwestern province, killing at least six prisoners.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
The officials said the attack also wounded at least two dozen prisoners, including four children staying with their imprisoned mothers at the central prison in government-held Taiz province.
There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.
The shelling came amid a drastic escalation in fighting between the internationally recognized government’s forces and the Houthi rebels in recent weeks.
The increased violence in the Arab world’s poorest country has displaced more than 40,000 people since January, adding to the roughly 3.6 million who have fled their homes since the war began more than five years ago.
