20 killed, 40 wounded in air raid on Yemen wedding: Medics

April 23, 2018 | 17:49

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At least 20 people were killed and 40 others wounded in an air raid on a wedding party in Yemen, rescue teams told AFP on Monday (Apr 23).

20 killed 40 wounded in air raid on yemen wedding medics

Smoke billows following an air strike by a Saudi-led coalition on Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa on April 5, 2018 AFP/Mohammed HUWAIS

Huthi rebels who control most of northern Yemen blamed the Sunday attack on a Saudi-led Arab coalition that backs the country's government.

Rescue teams said the wedding was taking place in the Huthi-controlled Bani Qais area of Hajjah province, north of Sanaa, when jets carried out the raid.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Twitter that a hospital it supports in Hajjah received at least 40 patients wounded in the airstrikes.

"Medical teams are working around the clock to provide assistance to the victims," MSF said.

The Huthi-run Al-Masirah Television tweeted that at least 33 people were killed and as many as 55 wounded in the air raid.

It said an unspecified number of children and women were among those killed, in addition to at least 30 children among the wounded.

The Saudi-led coalition's spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the incident.

Saudi Arabia launched a coalition of Arab states in March 2015 to battle the Iran-backed Huthis in its southern neighbour and restore to power Yemen's internationally recognised government.

Nearly 10,000 people have since been killed in the conflict, which has sparked what the United Nations has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

AFP

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