Eighteen people, including women and children, have been killed and injured in the Iran-backed Houthi militias’ barbaric attack on Yemen’s Khubzah village, revealed rights sources on Thursday.

The militias launched their attack on the village on Tuesday after besieging it for a week. The attack is seen as a reprisal against villagers who have fought the Houthis since 2014.

The Presidential Leadership Council has called on the government to immediately come to the aid of the village, located in the al-Bayda province.

The SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties said the Houthis were using all forms of heavy weapons to attack homes and properties in Khubzah.

At least ten civilians, including children, have been killed, and seven others were wounded. A number of people are under siege amid the ongoing attack.

Local sources said the attack has caused widespread destruction. They expressed their fear that the Houthis would commit mass executions of the population, estimated at around 2,000 people.

The Presidential Council on Thursday followed up on the latest developments.

The Saba news agency said the council reviewed two reports from al-Bayda and security agencies on the horrific human rights violations committed by the Houthis in Khubzah.

The militias have tightened the siege on the village and are barring medical services and food from entering.

The council called on the government to intervene to send aid to the people in coordination with international and local humanitarian organizations.

The Mayyun Organization for Human Rights and Development revealed it had received pleas for aid as the Houthis are reportedly preparing to commit a massacre in the village.

It called on the United Nations offices in Yemen and international community to realize the severity and tragedy of the situation and to exert enough pressure so that the situation on the ground can be reversed to the way it was before the Houthi campaign began.

It slammed the barbaric siege against civilians under the pretext of implausible excuses. It cited similar sieges carried out by the militias in other regions over the years, such as against al-Zaher in al-Bayda and Hojor in the Hajjah province.

Information Minister Moammer al-Eryani condemned the militias for their arbitrary attack of houses, using tanks and artillery, describing it as a war crime.

The Houthis’ committing of such a heinous crime amid a truce confirms their disregard for peace and easing the suffering of the people, he remarked.

He accused the militias of exploiting the UN-sponsored truce “to recruit more members, deepen their oppression and bring tribes, which are not loyal to them, to their knees.”

The minister called on the international community and UN and American envoys to condemn the barbaric attack and exert real pressure on the Houthis so they can end it.

The perpetrators must be held to account before international tribunals, he demanded, while the siege must be immediately lifted off Khubzah and safe passage must be granted to civilians.