Airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s rebels on Tuesday killed at least 13 civilians, including children, when they hit a residential building in southern Dhale province, tribal leaders and health officials said.
The airstrikes in the district of Qataba also wounded at least 10 others, they said. The casualties were from two families.
The officials and tribal leaders said the area hit by the airstrikes is controlled by the rebels, known as Houthis, and is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the frontline of fighting with forces of the internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabu Mansour Hadi, backed by the Saudi-led coalition.
The rebels’ health ministry said at least 13 people, including six children and four women, were killed. Earlier on Tuesday the Houthi-run al-Masirah satellite TV put the death toll at 16.
A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition did not answer phone calls seeking comment.
Elsewhere in Dhale, Houthi forces shot dead three people during a raid in the mountainous Awd area, the tribal leaders said.
Another four people were wounded and at least two dozen people were detained in the past three days for their criticism of Houthi rule, they said.
The health officials spoke on condition of anonymity ecause they were not authorized to brief the media, while the tribal leaders did so for fear of reprisals.
The Houthis said another Saudi-led coalition airstrike killed at least seven people, including children, on Monday in northwestern Amran province.
Tuesday’s airstrikes came four days after the Houthis said they were halting drone and missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, one week after they claimed responsibility for a strike that crippled a key oil facility in the kingdom. The U.S. and the Saudis blamed the Sept. 14 attack on Iran, which backs the Houthis. Iran denies any responsibility for the attack.
The Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Houthi rebels on behalf of an internationally recognized government since 2015.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and sparked what the U.N. describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
