At least 17 civilians including 5 children were killed and tens of others injured as clashes between Houthi militants and pro Hadi fighters reached residential areas in Yemen's southern city of Taiz, local sources said on Friday.
The Houthis have been pounding residences in the districts of Alrawdha, Jarrah Mountain, Kilabah, Almorour and others all day as fierce battles with the pro-government forces were continuing, they said.
Meanwhile, Secretary General of the Yemeni Physicians Syndicate, Sadik Al-Shuja'a, called on people to head for hospitals in Taiz to give blood for civilians injured in attacks by the Houthi militants.
Tens of civilians are being killed and injured a day and hospitals can't help many of them due to the lack of life-saving medicines, he said.
There are massacres in this city and the international community should address them, he said, adding the blockade on all Yemeni land, sea and air ports is deepening the suffering of the people.
The blockade was part of the Arab military operation launched against the Houthi militants in late March.
International organisations have been calling for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the blockade to save the lives of millions of Yemenis.
In the context of the battles, well-informed sources said the pro-government forces have repelled Houthi attacks against key positions and fought the militants in others in downtown the city killing many of them in the past 24 hours.
Battles between the pro-government and pro-Houthi forces continued in other cities including Aden, Dhali, Lahj, Jawf and Baidha coinciding with Saudi-led airstrikes against the Houthi positions, camps and weapon depots in cities including the capital Sanaa and Amran.