SANAA: Twelve Yemeni civilians including women and children have been killed in an air raid by the Saudi-led coalition northeast of the capital Sanaa, an official, residents and rebel media said on Sunday.

A local official said the coalition air raid hit a vehicle carrying the 12 civilians on Saturday in Hareeb Al-Qarameesh in Marib province, about 70 km northeast of Sanaa.

The area is held by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have controlled the capital and northern parts of the country for three years.

The rebel news agency Saba also reported the attack, saying the vehicle was destroyed and all passengers killed.

Residents said four children and two women were among the victims.

The Saudi-led coalition, which has been waging a war against the Houthis since March 2015, has been repeatedly criticised for attacks on civilians.

More than 8,000 people have been killed, including at least 1,500 children, and millions displaced in the conflict which has pushed the impoverished country to the brink of famine.

A cholera outbreak has also claimed the lives of more than 1,800 people since April, with 400,000 suspected cases across the country, according to the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The United Nations warned in July that 80 per cent of Yemen’s children desperately needed aid in what the organisation has called the “largest humanitarian crisis in the world”.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2017