U.N.: At least 21 civilians killed by Saudi airstrike in Yemen

SANAA, Yemen — A Saudi- l ed coalition airstrike at a fruit-andvegetable market near Yemen’s flashpoint Red Sea port of Hodeida killed at least 21 civilians, including children, the U.N. humanitarian aid agency said Thursday.

Wednesday’s attack came amid mounting fears of a fresh coalition assault on Hodeida — a city that has been the lifeline for international aid deliveries to Yemen, ravaged by a brutal three-year war between the Saudi-backed government and Shite rebels known as Houthis.

The coalition has been trying to wrest Hodeida from the Iran-backed rebels but the campaign, like the rest of Yemen’s war, had fallen into a stalemate.

The airstrike, which hit a vegetable packaging facility in the outdoor market in the town of Bayt el-Faqih, just south of Hodeida, also wounded 10 people.