Saudi-led airstrike kills 12 civilians in central Yemen

A fresh Saudi-led coalition airstrike killed 12 civilians travelling in a bus in Yemen's central province of Marib on Saturday evening, rescuers and a local official said.

The 12-member family, including six women and two children, were hit when travelling in a bus to escape fierce battles between rival Yemeni forces in Serwah district in Marib, the official, who asked to remain anonymous, told Xinhua by phone.

Rescuers also confirmed that all the family members were killed on the spot.

It is the latest in a series of airstrikes targeting civilians in the war-torn Arab country since the war erupted two and a half years ago.

Earlier this month, a similar airstrike killed a six-member family in Alsadah village in the northwestern province of Hajjah.

In March 2015, the Saudi-led coalition launched a large-scale air campaign to back the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi against Iranian-backed Houthis, who invaded the capital Sanaa and seized most of the country's northern provinces.

More than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the war that also displaced over 3 million others, according to UN agencies.

Yemen is now also on the edge of a mass famine.

source: Xinhua