By Mohamed al-Samei

SANAA

The Shia Houthi militia on Tuesday struck a military hospital in Yemen’s southwestern city of Taiz, resulting in a number of civilian casualties, according to a Yemeni military official.

"Houthi fighters shelled a military hospital in the city center, leading to an as-yet-undetermined number of civilian deaths and injuries," army spokesman Colonel Abdul Basset al-Bahr told Anadolu Agency by phone.

According to al-Bahr, the hospital building -- along with much medical equipment -- was damaged in the attack.

Tuesday’s attack, he added, had originated in the Houthi-held Al-Hoban district east of the city.

Houthi officials, for their part, have yet to comment on the army spokesman’s assertions.

Houthi fighters are currently besieging Taiz, which for the last three years has largely remained under the control of Yemeni government forces.

Impoverished Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies began a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

The ongoing violence has devastated local infrastructure, including water and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe the situation as “one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern times”.