UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Eight Yemeni civilians have been killed by shelling earlier this week in Hodeidah of Yemen despite a ceasefire deal reached by the warring parties, a UN spokesman said on Friday.
"Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that, on February 19, eight civilians were killed and another 10 were injured in Hodeidah when an artillery shell landed on Al Azeeb market in the Al Mateenah area," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
"The following day, there were unconfirmed reports indicating that one woman was killed and three children were injured when a house was hit in At Tawayah, in Hajjah Governorate," he added.
A ceasefire was agreed on by the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels in December 2018 for the general area of Hodeidah, home to a key Red Sea port and a major gateway for humanitarian aid.
Next Tuesday in Geneva, the United Nations and the governments of Sweden and Switzerland are to hold a third high-level pledging event to mobilize support to address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, said Dujarric.
