Saudi-led airstrike kills at least 23 civilians in Yemen

An airstrike by a Saudi-led alliance killed no fewer than 23 civilians fleeing fighting in Yemen’s southern city of Aden, Yemeni media reported on Wednesday.

“The strike late Tuesday mistakenly hit a convoy of vehicles carrying families who were escaping from Aden to the neighbouring province of Lajh,’’ a news report said.

The report added that paramedics said some of the bodies were charred beyond recognition.

There was no comment from the Saudi-led coalition, which in late March launched an air campaign against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The Shiite Houthis, who hail from Yemen’s far north, control large parts of the impoverished country and forced Sunni President Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi to flee the country.

Meanwhile representatives of Yemen’s warring factions are now in Geneva for talks aimed at de-escalating the conflict, which the UN said has claimed the lives of no fewer than 1,400 civilians.