Eight civilians killed in Yemen displaced centre bombing

AFP  |  Sanaa 

Eight civilians were killed and 30 others wounded in a "shocking" bomb attack against a centre for displaced people in Yemen, the UN said Sunday.

"Any attack on a is unconscionable and a clear violation of international humanitarian law," Grande said in a statement.

"An attack like this cannot be justified -- ever." The centre is in an area under government control in Hajja, but the Huthi rebels control other parts of the province.

The Iran-backed Huthis have battled a pro-government military coalition, led by and the UAE, for control of the impoverished country for four years, triggering what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Both parties are accused of failing to protect civilians. The Saudi-led alliance, which controls Yemeni airspace, has been criticised by the UN for the killing and maiming of children in air raids.

Saudi Arabia's state-run and (KSRelief) on Saturday accused the rebels of the attack. This organisation also said eight had been killed and 30 wounded.

Grande said dozens of civilians have been killed in over the past two months and hundreds of families displaced. More than one million people are in the province, according to the UN

The says the war has killed an estimated 10,000 people since 2015, when and its allies joined the government's fight against the rebels.

24 million Yemenis -- more than three quarters of the country's population -- are now dependent on some form of aid for survival, and the UN estimates more than 12 million are at risk of

More than 1.13 million Yemenis received emergency in December and aid agencies aim to reach an additional 230,000 people in January.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sun, January 27 2019. 22:15 IST