At least 40 killed in Yemen market attack

In March, 2015, a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states began airstrikes against Houthi positions in Yemen at the request of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Saudi warplanes launched multiple airstrikes against a marketplace in the Yemeni capital city of Sanaa today, killing at least 45 civilians and wounding some 50 others, the latest in a long series of strikes against civilians in Shi’ite territory in Yemen.

Officials say the assailants were targeting mostly civilians.

The Control Arms Coalition released a report listing 11 countries – including France, Britain, the USA and Germany – that it says sold arms such as drones, missiles and bombs worth $25 billion dollars (€22.8 billion) to the kingdom in 2015.

Coalition-backed loyalists have been advancing in Nehm against the rebels as they try to close in on Sanaa.

The Iran-backed Shiite rebels have controlled Sanaa since September 2014 and had placed Mr Hadi under house arrest. Yemeni security officials said the Saudi-led strikes hit a popular market in the Nihm district northeast of the capital.

How many have been killed in the fighting?

Mr Hadi’s government accused this week Lebanon’s Hizbollah of sending fighters to support the Houthis, saying it had evidence of the Shiite militia’s involvement.

The EP vote comes just days after Canadian-built Light Armoured Vehicles (LAVs) were identified in Yemen as part of the Saudi Arabian offensive, while Canadian-made rifles are now in Yemeni hands after being captured from the Saudi aggressors.