A/HRC/42/CRP.1 304. The siege of Ta’izz city began around August 2015. After Yemeni armed forces and affiliated armed groups gained control of parts of the city, Houthi-Saleh fighters responded by taking control of the two main roads, to the west and the east, into and out of the city, creating an effective blockade that lasted until March 2016. Air strikes by the coalition forces hit the city and its outskirts for the first month of the conflict on a daily basis and regular airstrikes continued throughout the remainder of the year. Across the governorate, between March and December 2015 687 air raids were reported by the Yemen Data Project. 305. In October 2015, shelling of civilian areas inside the city intensified, resulting in large numbers of civilian casualties and an increased frequency of attacks that carried on through November and December with devastating effect. Detention by the de facto authorities, particularly of individuals perceived to support the Resistance, included the abduction of men from Houthi-controlled areas or at checkpoints. Houthi-Saleh snipers shot dead several civilians in November 2015 in Ta’izz city.431 Those living close to the frontlines were worst affected by snipers atop buildings, some of whom appeared to target civilians, including those seeking food or safety. By the end of 2015, the main front was located in Saleh district in the east of the city where the Houthis “held a promontory overlooking the commercial heart of the city.”432 In March 2016, the Yemeni armed forces established control of a third entry point into Ta’izz city, to the south, breaking the “siege”. 306. The parties to the conflict agreed upon a ceasefire in Ta’izz on 11 April 2016, but both sides violated it. A renewed truce on 17 April 2016 lasted a day before the fighting resumed. Clashes continued through the following months, resulting in scores of civilian casualties amidst heavy shelling and ground fighting. By the end of the year, positions inside the city had become entrenched and the frontlines remained static to some extent. (a) Violations during the Battle of Ta’izz "I was sitting and watching the boys playing volleyball in the quarter and suddenly a missile hit the playground and hit them all."433 36-year-old man from Kawthar neighbourhood, Ta’izz city, who was injured in a mortar attack on 27 January 2016 307. Since the beginning of the conflict, and especially during the first year, the city of Ta’izz, its surrounding environs, and inhabitants were subject to heavy fighting between the parties to the conflict, all of which positioned themselves in residential areas. Ground attacks involved the use of indirect-fire weapons such as mortars, artillery and rockets, as well as the use of tanks and anti-aircraft guns to hit ground targets. Densely populated residential areas of the city encompassing the districts of al-Qahirah, Saleh, and alMudhaffar bore the brunt of this, evidenced by the progressive scale of destruction that is distinctly visible on satellite imagery. Many neighbourhoods, particularly those situated at the edges of the city, became frontlines for the urban warfare that included street-to-street battles. The Group of Experts examined a sample of shelling incidents that occurred during the first year of the conflict;434 in the majority of these attacks, Houthi-Saleh fighters were reportedly responsible, especially following their positioning to higher, strategic grounds on the outskirts of the city in the summer of 2015, after the Resistance pushed them out of the city. Many of the attacks appeared indiscriminate in nature and reportedly resulted in civilian casualties, including some that involved the death and injury of large numbers of civilian men and children. They often occurred when people were going about their daily lives, including adults shopping and children playing. Houthi snipers also took up positions and shot at civilians recklessly or intentionally, creating fear among those communities living close to the frontlines, as well as for journalists reporting on the conflict from the 431 United Nations, Letter dated 22 January 2016 from the Panel of Experts on Yemen established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2140 (2014) addressed to the President of the Security Council 26 January 2016, Annex 49, p. 142, S/2016/73. 432 Ibid, para 68. 433 Confidential Sources on File. 434 Confidential Sources on File. 71