Death of innocents
Air strikes slaughter Yemen children
AT least 14 civilians, including women and children, were killed yesterday in air strikes in Yemen.
Three houses in the capital Sanaa were hit in the attacks by a Saudi-led coalition.
The death toll is expected to rise as rescuers pull more victims from the rubble.
The attack was the latest in a series of strikes by the coalition who are targeting Iran-backed Shia rebels in a bid to restore the internationally recognised government to power.
The strikes – targeting the rebels, known as Houthis – have intensified recently.
On Wednesday, coalition jets struck a hotel in the town of Arhab, near Sanaa, killing at least 41 people.
The escalation comes amid signs of a split between the main rebel groups – Houthis and loyalists of ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The group control much of northern Yemen, including Sanaa.
Saudi-led air strikes have hit schools, hospitals and markets, killing thousands of civilians and prompting war crimes accusations against the coalition.
Activists have called on Western countries, including the US and UK, to halt military support for the coalition.
The conflict has killed more than 10,000 civilians, made three million homeless and left the country on the brink of famine.
The United Nations human rights office called yesterday for an independent investigation into the coalition air strikes.
“We remind all parties to the conflict of their duty to ensure full respect for international humanitarian law,” UN human rights spokeswoman Liz Throssell said.