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| Yemen civil war: 20 civilians 'killed in Saudi-led air strike,' UN says | Yemen civil war: 20 civilians 'killed in Saudi-led air strike,' UN says |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| At least 20 civilians have been killed in an air strike by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, according to the UN and witnesses. | At least 20 civilians have been killed in an air strike by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, according to the UN and witnesses. |
| Survivors said a vehicle packed with families fleeing battles between government forces and Houthi rebels in the city of Taiz was hit on Tuesday. | |
| Yemeni officials said several women and children were among the casualties. | |
| The UN Refugee Agency said it was “saddened and shocked” by the deaths in the Mawzaa district. | |
| “Preliminary reports are that the IDP (internally displaced) families were trying to flee hostilities from elsewhere in Taiz,” a spokesperson said. | |
| “Nowhere in Yemen safe for civilians. Each of Yemen's mainland governorates affected by conflict and tens thousands killed and injured. | |
| “We have been advocating incessantly for respect of international humanitarian law and protection of civilians in Yemen. More must be done.” | |
| International rights groups have accused the Saudi-led coalition of bombing civilian gatherings, markets, hospitals, and residential areas across Yemen since the beginning of its campaign against Houthi rebels in 2015. | |
| Saudi Arabia is using British-manufactured weapons in the offensive, sparking failed legal challenge by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade in the High Court. | |
| Judges found that the Saudi-led coalition was “not deliberately targeting civilians” and alleged massacres were under investigation, concluding that it had not been established that there was “a clear risk that the items might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law”. | |
| Dr Abdullah al-Rabeeah, a former Saudi minister and now head of the country’s state aid agency, told The Independent “there is no intention whatsoever to bombard or kill civilians”. | |
| “When there is a conflict there will be mistakes, but we account for our mistakes and apologise for them, and try to compensate those who have been hurt,” he added, claiming the autocracy was also the “number one donor” for aid and development in Yemen. | |
| While the conflict is killing 75 people every day, according to UN figures, many more are falling victim to a cholera outbreak and severe food shortages pushing the country to the brink of famine. | |
| Separately, UN officials said the coalition barred one of its flights to Yemen's Houthi-controlled capital, Sana’a. | |
| The plane was going to bring aid workers and BBC reporters from Djibouti. The coalition shut down the city’s international airport a year ago. | |
| The war has been mired in stalemate for most of the last two years, with more than 10,000 civilians killed and three million displaced. | |
| Additional reporting by AP |