Saudi-led raid kill at least 35 in south Yemen

At least 35 civilians have been killed and dozens wounded in a Saudi-led coalition air raid in southwestern Yemen, medical sources said Saturday.

Women and children were among those killed in the Friday night strike in the town of Mokhba, close to the third city of Taez, the sources said.

The raid hit a residential neighbourhood where employees of the town’s power station lived, according to residents.

They said several houses were destroyed and that dozens of people were wounded.

The Saba press agency, controlled by the Huthi rebels that have seized control of the capital and much of central Yemen, reported that 55 people were killed in the attack, which it denounced as a “Saudi crime”.

Some witnesses said the neighbourhood in Mokhba had been targeted by mistake, although others alleged that the Huthis had taken up positions in the area.

In March, the coalition launched strikes on rebel positions after the Huthis swept into Sanaa and pushed south towards the port city of Aden, where President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi had taken refuge before fleeing to Riyadh.

Coalition jets carried out fresh raids overnight on Huthi positions across Yemen, including around Aden, military sources said.

The United Nations says the conflict has killed more than 3,640 people, around half of them civilians, since late March.