Yemen air raid kills 'over 80 civiliansMore than 80 civilians were killed in an air raid which blasted a makeshift camp of displaced people in northern Yemen, witnesses said on Thursday, as the army pursued its offensive on Shi'ite rebels.
The attack was carried out by Mig 29s that targeted displaced families who had gathered under trees in the area of Adi", in Amran province - scene of heavy fighting between the army and the rebels, the witness said, asking not to be identified.
"The jet fighters targeted Huthi rebels who were firing while hiding among the displaced people," the official told AFP requesting anonymity. He declined to comment on the death toll.
"Dozens were killed and the bodies were blown away by the impact of the strike," the statement said.
The Yemeni army, which launched operation Scorched Earth against the rebels on August 11, said on Thursday it has delivered heavy blows "over the past hours".
A military commander claimed the army had killed and wounded many rebels, whom it accused of using civilians as human shields.
Rebels have also alleged neighboring Saudi Arabia has been sending warplanes to aid Yemeni troops, a claim ridiculed by the Yemeni government which accuses Shiite Iran of backing the rebels.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh vowed on Thursday to crush the rebellion within weeks.
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