At least 40 killed in Yemen market attack

Warplanes of the Saudi-led Arab coalition launched airstrikes that mistakenly hit a public market in the northeastern parts of Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Saturday, killing about 45 civilians, residents told Xinhua.

Over 3,750 schools have been closed and at least 1.2 million Yemeni people have been displaced so far. Dozens have been injured.

A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting to restore the internationally recognised Yemeni president, Abdrabu Mansur Hadi, to power also said its ships had intercepted a ship last week carrying relief and food supplies, including high-tech communications devices.

An worldwide coalition of 100 aid and rights organisations has urged Western countries to stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia for its extensive air campaign against Iran-backed Shia rebels in Yemen.

The conflict began after Houthi rebels advanced on the southern port of Aden, where Hadi was based.

The Houthis are a Shia political movement aligned with Yemen’s former dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh. The Houthis had placed Hadi under house arrest, but he eventually escaped, moving to the Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, before going back to Aden after the rebels had been driven out.

The United Nations says the fighting in Yemen has killed more than 6,000 Yemenis since March 2015, and more than 35,000 have been wounded. Officials say the assailants were targeting mostly civilians.