At least 15 civilians were killed in attacks on minibuses in Yemen's embattled Hodeida province, a UN agency said Sunday, as Huthi rebels blamed air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs did not specify the type of strikes Saturday in the Jabal Ras district, but Yemeni rebels said they were air raids by the coalition fighting alongside the government.

The coalition's spokesman, contacted by AFP, had no immediate comment.

The UN agency said at least 20 more civilians were injured, in what Lisa Grande, the world body's humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, termed "a horrific incident".

The Norwegian Refugee Council condemned "an unacceptable pattern of attacks on civilian women, men and children by parties to the conflict who profess concern for the interests and welfare of Yemeni people".

Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government after the Iran-aligned Huthis ousted it from the capital Sanaa and swathes of the country's north.

The coalition has used air power to oust the rebels from much of the country's south, but the Huthis have held onto Sanaa and the key Red Sea port of Hodeida.

Following the collapse of United Nations-backed talks in September, the coalition announced it was relaunching an assault on Hodeida city and its Red Sea port.

The fighting has since eased and the coalition has focused its raids on the city limits and other parts of the surrounding province.

Coalition air strikes last week killed 79 Huthi rebel fighters and seven civilians in Hodeida province.

The coalition has drawn heavy UN criticism for the high civilian death toll from its campaign in Yemen.

Yemen's war has left almost 10,000 people dead, mostly civilians, since the coalition intervened in 2015, and sparked what the UN has labelled the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Related Links
Space War News

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Rebels fire shells from Syria buffer despite heavy arms pullout: monitor
Beirut (AFP) Oct 14, 2018
Rebels have fired mortar shells from a planned buffer zone in northwest Syria, a monitor said Sunday, days after they were meant to have withdrawn such weapons from the area. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said rebels in the zone fired several "mortar shells at an army position in nearby Hama province, killing two soldiers" late Saturday. Also on Saturday, rebels shelled Aleppo province from other parts of the demilitarised area, with no casualties recorded, the Britain-base ... read more