Saudi-led air strikes kill at least 21 civilians in Yemen's capital despite UN-backed truce

At least 21 civilians were killed and 45 others wounded when Saudi-led warplanes struck a residential neighborhood in Yemen's capital Sanaa early on Monday, witnesses and medics said, despite a humanitarian truce.

The warplanes destroyed nine houses in Sawan area, where most of the residents are poor, witnesses said.

Medics at the scene told Xinhua that "21 dead bodies, mostly women and children, were pulled from under the rubble; while 45 others were wounded and moved to hospitals."

Rescue teams have been working for hours after the predawn raid to search for survivors.

"It should not target the innocent people," said a resident named Ibrahim. Residents in Sawan area said there was no presence of Shiite Houthi fighters or weapons stores.

Saudi-led coalition forces continued air strikes against the Houthis on Monday, as ground fighting between Houthi and pro-government fighters raged across the country despite a UN-brokered humanitarian ceasefire.

It is the third day of the temporary truce that took effect at 23:59 (2059 GMT) on Friday and is due to last through the end of Muslim holy month of Ramadan on July 17.

The UN said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had received assurances from Houthis, the General People's Congress, the former ruling party led by ex-President Ali Abdullash Saleh who supported the Houthis, and other parties that "the pause will be fully respected and that there will be no violations from any combatants under their control."

However, the truce, aimed at facilitating aid deliveries to more than 21 million people in Yemen, was breached by all warring parties.

The fresh airstrikes hit the Houthi group in Sanaa, as well as the provinces of Saada, Amran, Marib, al-Jouf, Ibb and Taiz, security sources said. Houthi media reported that several civilians were killed or injured, without providing specific number of death toll.

In the southern port city of Aden, the pro-government fighters have tightened control over the western entry after days of fierce fighting against the Houthis.

Ali al-Ahmadi, the spokesman for the pro-government forces in Aden, said they has "received new weapons and military armored vehicles from the coalition ... they are advancing toward a final and decisive phase of fighting against the rebels."

The Saudi-led coalition has been bombing the Houthis and their allied forces since March 26 in a bid to reinstate the rule of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has fled to the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

According to the UN human rights agencies, more than three months into the Saudi-led air campaign, over 3,000 Yemenis have been killed, mostly civilians, and over 13,000 others wounded, while more than a million people have fled their homes. Endit