12 Yemeni civilians killed in two days

DUBAI: Twelve Yemeni civilians, including five children, were killed in two attacks in the past two days, pro-government and rebel forces said Sunday, trading accusations over the targeting of non-combatants.

A mother and her four children were killed Sunday in a Huthi rebel attack in government-controlled Jebel Habashi, about 35 kilometres west of Yemen's third city of Taez, a pro-government official told AFP.

The official from Taez, controlled by pro-government forces but surrounded by the rebels, said the Huthis launched a Katyusha rocket towards Jabal Habashi "completely destroying" the family's home.

In Daleh, east of Taez, the Iran-aligned Huthi rebels accused the Saudi-led coalition backing the government of targeting two vehicles with air strikes Saturday in the Aoud area -- killing seven civilians, including a child.

Aoud was seized by the rebels earlier this month and fighting between the two sides is ongoing, according to a government source.

The city of Taez has also witnessed heavy clashes between pro-government militias this month.

Two children were killed in that fighting Thursday, according to local officials and medical sources.

Their deaths came shortly after Doctors Without Borders said five people had been killed in the clashes since they erupted on April 19.

Nearly 10,000 people -- most of them civilians -- have been killed and more than 60,000 wounded since March 2015, when the Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemen war.

Rights groups estimate the toll could be much higher.