Wednesday 23 August 2017

35 dead as air strike hits hotel in Yemen





At least 35 people have been killed in air strikes that hit a small hotel near a Houthi-run checkpoint north of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, a local medic and Houthi's television station say.

The roof of the hotel collapsed, leaving at least two bodies dangling from the building, said a witness in the Arhab area, about 20km from Sanaa.

The report said the attack hit a small hotel but made no direct reference to civilian casualties or fighters.

A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, which is fighting the Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen, was not immediately available for comment. Reuters was not immediately able to independently confirm the reports.

The Houthis, who control Sanaa and northern Yemen, are fighting the internationally recognised government which is backed by Saudi Arabia and its allies in the country's civil war.

A medic told Reuters that 35 bodies had been recovered from the rubble but more victims were believed to be inside. Houthi-run al-Masira TV earlier said at least 30 "martyrs" had been killed.

At least 13 people were wounded in the strikes, which followed a series of air attacks in the surrounding area overnight, the medic added.

Earlier this month, a senior United Nations official condemned recent reported air strikes in Yemen, including on a house containing children, saying they showed "disregard" for civilians' safety.

The Saudi-led coalition denied targeting the family home after a health official said nine civilians were killed in an air strike.

A report by international aid agencies last week said Yemen suffered more air strikes in the first half of this year than in the whole of 2016, increasing the number of civilian deaths and forcing more people to flee their homes.

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