Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen intensify as rebels fire back

Iran has accused Saudi Arabian warplanes of attacking the Iranian embassy in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, state media reported Thursday.

“My classmate and I were at recess when a huge explosion hit the neighbourhood”.

A military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and its Sunni Muslim allies has been fighting Yemen’s Shi’ite Houthi movement to repel what it sees as creeping influence by the group’s ally, Iran.

He put civilian casualties recorded between 26 March and 31 December, 2015 at 8,119 people, 2,795 of them killed and 5,324 wounded, noting that at least 62 civilians were reported killed by airstrikes attributed to coalition forces in December, more than twice the number of November.

A second round of negotiations is set for the middle of January, but may be complicated by growing tensions between Saudi Arabia and its regional foe Iran, which the Saudis accuse of backing the Houthis.

The U.N. human rights chief, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, told the Security Council last month that the Saudi-led coalition had accounted for a “disproportionate amount” of the damage to infrastructure and civilian premises, including schools and hospitals.

“We believe our office in Yemen has been doing an excellent job in very hard conditions”, said United Nations human rights spokesman Rupert Colville, adding that United Nations officials would study the accusations made against the representative.

Residents said the air-strikes targeting Houthi forces intensified on Tuesday before a care center for the blind was hit, Reuters reports. Northern Yemen is a Houthi stronghold.

Sana’a- A ballistic missile that was launched by Houthi militias South Saudi Arabia has exploded in Sana’a causing death and injury cases.

The coalition on Saturday announced that it was ending a truce with the rebels that was announced on December 15 but had been repeatedly violated.

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