In this Dec. 15, 2015, file photo, Shiite tribesmen, known as Houthis, hold their weapons as they chant slogans during a tribal gathering showing support for the Houthi movement in Sanaa, Yemen.

Local authorities condemned on Saturday Yemen’s Houthi militias and its allies for obstructing the entry of UN delegates to the country’s third city of Taiz.

The authorities said in a statement that Houthis had prevented a “delegation of UN agencies” from entering Taiz on Saturday morning.

The UN delegation was headed by Julian Hernez Rick, the country director of UNICEF, and was on its way to review the health and humanitarian situation in the city.

The local authority denounced the act, saying it confirmed that the militias “disregarded” the truce and reflected their “defiance of humanitarian organizations, the United Nations, the international community and the world,” read the statement published on Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

Taiz, about 205km south of the capital Sanaa, has suffered huge destruction since fighting in the city intensified.

The Houthis, who are battling the internationally-recognized government of Yemen President Abd Rabbu Mansour al-Hadi, are allied to Hadi’s predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh.

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