More than 80 civilians have been killed in an air raid which blasted a makeshift camp of displaced people in northern Yemen, witnesses said, as the army pursued its offensive on Shiite rebels. One witness, reached by telephone, said most of those killed in Wednesday's raid were women and children. The attack was carried out by a "warplane [that] targeted displaced families who had gathered under trees in the area of Adi," in Amran province - scene of heavy fighting between the army and the rebels, the witness said, asking not to be identified.
Another witness, also reached by telephone, said "at least 87 were killed" in the attack, which was acknowledged by a Yemeni official. "The jet fighter targeted Huthi [rebels] who were firing [while hiding] among the displaced people," the official said. He declined to comment on the death toll. A rebel statement condemned the attack, accusing the Sana'a government, which has vowed to crush the five-year-old rebellion, of thirsting for blood.
"The bloodthirsty authorities have committed a new massacre," said a statement issued by the Huthi rebels. It said that government MiG warplanes at midday on Wednesday had targeted displaced people gathering along the Barata road, close to Adi village near Harf Sufyan, which lies on the route linking Saada to the capital. "Dozens were killed and the bodies were blown away by the impact of the strike," the statement said.
The Yemeni army, which launched operation Scorched Earth against the rebels on August 11, said it has delivered heavy blows "over the past hours". A military commander claimed the army had killed and wounded many rebels, whom it accused of using civilians as human shields. He did not elaborate. *AFP
