Air strikes hit Yemen's rebel-held capital

SANAA: Yemen’s rebel-held capital was struck by overnight air raids that continued well into Sunday, targeting the defence ministry and a popular public square, an official said.

An air raid hit the Sanaa defence ministry, which is controlled by a rebel alliance based in the capital, an official with the local rebel-run government said.

Another strike on Sunday targeted Sabaeen Square, frequently the site of mass rallies and protests in the city, the official said.

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The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, blamed the attack on a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, which is battling Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels.

A spokesperson for a Saudi-led military coalition did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.

The Yemeni capital and the country’s northern highlands are under the control of the Huthis and their ally, former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The rebel government is not recognised by the United Nations or the international community.

Saleh ruled Yemen from its unification in 1990 until 2012, when he reluctantly ceded power to his vice-president, Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

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Saleh joined ranks with the rebels — for decades his sworn enemies — in 2014, driving Hadi and his government south of Sanaa.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia led a military intervention in the war between Hadi’s forces and the rebel alliance in a bid to prop up the government.

More than 8,600 people have since been killed, according to the World Health Organization.