Civilians killed in air raid on Yemen capital: witnesses

Several people including civilians were killed in an air raid Wednesday on the Yemeni capital, witnesses and local media said. A television channel run by the country's Huthi rebels, who control Sanaa, reported more than 30 civilians killed in a raid by the Saudi-led military coalition that is allied with the Yemeni government. The number could not be immediately confirmed with independent sources. Witnesses told AFP multiple air strikes had hit the capital on Wednesday, including at a housing unit for workers from a nearby qat farm. There were reports that members of the Huthi rebel group had been staying in the area. The war between the Saudi-backed government and the Iran-backed rebels has killed more than 8,300 Yemenis since 2015 and pushed the country to the brink of famine. While the rebel alliance, which includes former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, controls the capital, the pro-government Arab coalition controls Yemen's airspace. Northern Yemen has come under aerial attack in recent months. In June, 24 civilians were killed when an air strike hit a market in northern Yemen that was a centre for trafficking in qat, a leafy stimulant plant that is widely used in Yemen but banned by neighbouring Saudi Arabia. Local sources, including hospital officials, blamed the June strike on the Saudi-led Arab coalition. The coalition has not claimed responsibility for the attack.