News / More / News

Saudi airstrikes kill 5 family members west of Yemen’s capital

Monday, 06 April 2015 1:02 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 06 April 2015 6:35 PM ]

Yemenis inspect the rubble of destroyed houses in the village of Bani Matar, west of the capital Sana’a, on April 4, 2015, a day after it was hit by a Saudi airstrike. (© AFP)

At least five civilians have been killed when Saudi warplanes bombed a village on the western outskirts of Sana’a, Yemen.

The victims were all members of a single family, who were killed in a fresh Saudi airstrike against Yemen as Riyadh pushes ahead with its military campaign against Houthi Ansarullah revolutionaries in the impoverished Arab country.

Local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the victims lost their lives when Saudi military aircraft fired several missiles into a number of houses in Beit Rajal village, which lies on the western outskirt of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, on Monday noon, Yemen-based Arabic-language Wattan news agency reported.

A Yemeni shows the body of one of the victims of a Saudi airstrike that hit the village of Bani Matar, west of the capital, Sana’a, on April 4, 2015. (© AFP)

The report added that people are rummaging through the rubble of destroyed houses in the village as many are believed to be trapped under the debris.

Local people say Saudi warplanes also conducted several airstrikes against two districts of the northern city of Sa'ada, setting a power plant and a communication station ablaze.

Hundreds of civilians, including women and children, have been killed in the Saudi airborne attacks against Yemen.

Yemenis dig graves on April 4, 2015 to bury the victims of a Saudi airstrike, village of Bani Matar, west of the capital, Sana’a. (© AFP)

Saudi Arabia’s air campaign against Yemen started on March 26 without a UN mandate in a bid to restore power to Yemen’s former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.

Hadi stepped down in January and refused to reconsider the decision despite calls by the Houthi Ansarullah movement.

A supporter of the Houthi Ansarullah movement rests his gun on his shoulder during a demonstration against Saudi airstrikes on Yemen in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, on April 5, 2015. (© AFP)

On March 25, the embattled president fled Aden, where he had sought to set up a rival power base, to Riyadh after Ansarullah revolutionaries advanced on the port.

Ansarullah fighters and their allies are now advancing southward while they have also stepped up the fight against al-Qaeda terrorists and secured many areas.

MP/HMV/SS

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

Yemen