Saudi-led coalition air raids ‘kill 11 Yemen civilians’

Air raids by a Saudi-led military coalition across Yemen have been blamed for killing 11 civilians, a day after Houthi rebels fired a ballistic missile at the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

The deadly attacks came on the 1,000th day of the devastating war that has killed about 10,000 people and left millions facing starvation.

The pro-Houthi Al Masirah television channel said 11 people were killed – including women and children – and 19 others wounded in Thursday’s air raids in Saada province in the country’s far north.

A Houthi source told Turkey’s Anadolu news agency that Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, was also struck by a series of air raids.

Fighter jets launched two attacks on Saada’s Old Quarter, killing the 11 civilians, Abdelellah al-Ezi, head of the provincial health office, told German news agency dpa.

The aircraft later bombed the area as medical workers attempted to help the victims, al-Ezi said. “So far we have not been able to reach the area as jets are flying overhead,” he said.

There was no immediate comment from the Saudi-led coalition.

For 1,000 days, the Arab world’s poorest country has been embroiled in a regional proxy war, with the Saudi-led coalition attempting to oust from power the Houthi rebels, who are widely believed to be backed by their rival, Iran.

Amid widespread internal displacement and destruction, about 14 million people – more than half of whom are children – do not have access to clean water and sanitation.

Saudi Arabia intensified its embargo on Yemen in November, closing all land, sea and air ports after Houthi rebels fired a ballistic missile towards Riyadh.

On Tuesday, the Houthis launched a second ballistic missile that was shot down before hitting the capital.

Helen Lackner, a Yemen analyst from SOAS, University of London, said it is unlikely the devastating war will end anytime soon with all sides dug in.

“We have a situation now where the Houthis feel that they are on a winning streak … Attacking Riyadh is just another sign of their feeling of superiority militarily,” she told Al Jazeera.