International

A Saudi-led air strike on a group of displaced Yemenis has killed at least 20 civilians, mostly from the same family, a UN statement and witnesses said Wednesday.

The attack on Tuesday afternoon hit a group of civilians in the Mawza district of the southwestern province of Taez, a statement by the UN refugee agency said.

Residents said the attack was carried out by a warplane from the Saudi-led coalition which has been since March 2015 launching a brutal aggression against Yemen in a bid to restore power to ex-president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The UNHCR said it was “deeply shocked and saddened at reports of the deaths and injuries of a number of internally displaced persons in an aerial attack” on the area.

“This latest incident once again demonstrates the extreme dangers facing civilians in Yemen, particularly those attempting to flee violence, as they disproportionately bear the brunt of conflict,” the statement said.

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 8,000 people have been killed in Yemen’s conflict, most of them civilians, since March 2015.