Saudi-led airstrikes hit Yemen rebels in capital, south

Aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition battling Shiite rebels in Yemen struck targets in several cities on Sunday, including the capital, security officials say, as fighting raged across the country.

The continued airstrikes and combat between rival factions on the ground underline how a negotiated peace remains elusive in the Arab world’s poorest country. They also come despite a Saudi announcement last week saying coalition operations would scale down and shift to focus on diplomacy, humanitarian and counter-terrorism issues.

The Sunday airstrikes began just after midnight, officials say, hitting a military base known to be an arms depot on the outskirts of Sanaa, as well as sites near the presidential palace where weapons were being moved. Fierce street battles in the central city of Taiz killed some 20 civilians and wounded dozens, they add, with mortar rounds fired indiscriminately and landing near a hospital at one point.

In the southern port city of Aden, they say air raids targeted the rebels, known as Houthis, as street fighting between them and forces loyal to embattled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi continued. The officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief journalists.

— AP