Asia/South Asia
6 years ago

Saudi-led airstrike kills 22 children: Yemen rebels

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At least 22 children and nine women were killed in a Saudi-led airstrike on a camp of internally displaced families south of Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Thursday.

Houthi rebel-controlled Saba news agency said, the air attack took place in the evening and targeted the camp in al-Durayhemi district.

The Saudi-led coalition was not immediately available for comments on the airstrike, reports Xinhua.

On August 9, a previous coalition airstrike hit a school bus in Yemen's northern province of Saada, killing 51, including 40 children, according to Johannes Bruwer, head of the International Committee of Red Cross delegation in Yemen.

In addition, among the 79 injured in the strike were 56 children, Bruwer said.

The airstrike triggered public anger across Yemen and condemnation from international humanitarian agencies.

Yemen has been locked in a civil war since late 2014, when the Houthi rebels overran much of the country and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa.

Saudi Arabia is leading an Arab military coalition that intervened in the Yemeni war in 2015 to support the government of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The war has so far killed more than 10,000 Yemenis, mostly civilians, and displaced about 3 million others.

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