18 civilians killed in Saudi-led airstrike in Yemen

Sanaa, April 28: At least 18 civilians were killed and 47 others wounded when warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition forces mistakenly hit a populated neighbourhood in Yemen' s southern port city of Aden on Monday, a government official said.

"A number of missiles fired by the Saudi-led warplanes struck a residential neighbourhood in the district of Crater of Aden city by mistake, leaving dozens of people killed and wounded and destroying several houses at the scene," a government official based in Aden said on condition of anonymity.

"According to the initial reports, the Saudi-led airstrike killed about 18 civilians and wounded 47 others, including children and women," Xinhua quoted the official as saying.

Local residents confirmed that "very huge explosions rocked the populated neighbourhood and caused several buildings to collapse while many people were living there".

An army commander fighting alongside with tribal militia loyal to Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in Aden said that "apparently the Saudi-led airstrike were aiming to target armoured trucks of the Houthi gunmen stationed in Crater district".

"But unfortunately the raids mistook its target and hit residential buildings that caused large destruction in the area," the army commander said.

Yemen's official Saba news agency that is controlled by the Shia Houthi group announced on Monday that 3,512 Yemenis, including 492 children, have been killed in the airstrikes since the beginning of the campaign on March 26.

The report said that 6,189 people were injured, including 978 children and 713 women and about 95,000 families have been displaced.

However, the UN human rights office said on April 24 that the death toll in Yemen between March 26 and April 22 is estimated at 551, including 31 women and at least 115 children.

IANS