Image copyright Reuters Image caption The prison complex was decimated by three air strikes

Dozens of people have been killed at a Yemeni prison complex in air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition, reports say.

Strikes hit a building used as a prison in the al-Zaydiya security headquarters in the western port of Hudaydah, security and medical officials say.

The city is under the control of Houthi rebels, who have been battling the government since 2014.

Rebels and inmates were among the 60 dead, officials said. Dozens more are believed to have been wounded.

The prison was holding 84 inmates when it was hit three times late on Saturday, reports said. Pictures from the scene showed badly wounded people being rushed to hospital.

The coalition, which backs Yemen's exiled President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, has been criticised for the number of civilians killed in its air strikes.

But a coalition statement quoted by Reuters news agency suggested that the building was a legitimate target and said "targeting protocols and procedures were followed fully".

"This building is used by Houthi militia and the forces of the deposed president as a command and control centre for their military operations," the statement said, referring to former head of state Ali Abdullah Saleh who is backing the rebels.

Earlier this month, at least 140 people were killed, most of them civilians, when planes bombed a funeral hall in Yemen's capital, Sanaa.

The coalition later blamed the attack on "bad information".

The latest air strikes came as President Hadi rejected a new peace proposal submitted by UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption At least 60 were killed and many injured at the prison

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Reports suggest around 84 inmates were in the building

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Images from the scene show the prison reduced to rubble

President Hadi, who lives in exile in the Saudi capital Riyadh, said the plan "rewards the coup leaders and punishes the Yemeni people at the same time".

Details of the peace "roadmap" have not been made public but are believed to give the rebels a share in any future government.

The plan is also believed to involve reducing some presidential powers in exchange for Houthis withdrawing from major cities.

The Shia Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. Much of the internationally-recognised government is now based in Yemen's second city of Aden.

The conflict escalated in March 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition launched an air campaign to try to push the rebels back. </s> SANAA/HODEIDAH, Yemen (Reuters) - An air raid by an Arab coalition killed 60 people in Yemen, including inmates of a prison near the city of Hodeidah, medical sources said.

The prison held 84 inmates when it was struck three times late on Saturday, Hashem al-Azizi, deputy governor of the province of Hodeidah, told Reuters.

The Saudi-led alliance that conducted the raid said it struck a “central security building” used as a military command center by the Houthi rebels it is fighting. Local officials said the prison lies within a security complex but that only prison guards were present during the air strike.

“This building is used by Houthi militia and the forces of the deposed president as a command and control center for their military operations,” a statement by the coalition said, referring to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, a Houthi ally.

Related Coverage Arab coalition says Hodeidah raid hit Houthi command center

“The coalition forces’ leadership stresses that targeting protocols and procedures were followed fully,‎” the statement said.

The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting Yemen’s Houthi movement since March 2015. It wants to restore the internationally recognized president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was driven into exile by the Iran-allied Houthis in late 2014.

A Reuters witness at the security complex said the building was destroyed and medics pulled about 17 bodies away, many of them missing limbs. Others remained trapped under the rubble.

One of the strikes directly targeted the building, the witness said, bringing it down over the heads of the prisoners. Two others hit the gate of the complex and nearby administration buildings.

People gather at a prison struck by Arab coalition warplanes in al-Zaydiyah district of the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, Yemen October 30, 2016. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad

The air attack was one of the deadliest among thousands of bombings. The attacks have largely failed to dislodge the Houthis from the capital, Sanaa, but have repeatedly hit schools, markets, hospitals and homes, killing many civilians.

HADI REJECTS PEACE PLAN

Rights groups have said the raids may amount to war crimes, but an investigative body set up by the coalition largely defended its methods in an August report, which concluded that Houthi rebels regularly deploy to civilian sites.

The Houthis deny this, and a top official in the movement criticized the United Nations and the United States, the Saudis’ key ally and arms supplier, for not doing enough to hold the kingdom accountable for its air strikes.

“We condemn the position of the international community and the U.N. for providing cover for the crimes of Saudi Arabia against Yemenis, and they are subject to the wishes of America,” Saleh al-Samad said in a statement late on Saturday.

Slideshow (4 Images)

The bombing may signal a renewed outbreak of violence a day after Hadi rejected a new U.N. peace proposal, saying the deal would only be a path to more war and destruction.

Speaking after a meeting with U.N. envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed in Riyadh, Hadi said the agreement would “reward the rebels and penalize the Yemeni people and legitimacy”, according to the government-controlled Saba news agency.

According to a copy of the proposal seen by Reuters, the plan would sideline Hadi and set up a government of less divisive figures.

Hadi’s opponents accuse him of commanding only a small support base in Yemen and of being unable to bring its warring factions together, since he invited the Saudi-led coalition to intervene in the civil war. </s> At least 17 people have been killed in a Saudi-led coalition airstrike on a marketplace in the town of Al Hudaydah in Yemen, medics told an RT stringer.More than 12 people were injured, with the medics warning that the death toll may rise to over two dozen.According to AFP,The militants allegedly fled to the market to escape the bombardment, but were still targeted by the warplanes.A military source close to Saudi-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi told AFP that the rebels used civilians as "human shields."Al-Masirah TV channel, controlled by the Houthis, reported that 27 people were killed and dozens wounded in the attack.The Red Sea port of Al Hudaydah is Yemen's fourth-largest city, with a population of around 400,000, located in the west of the country.Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia has headed an international military coalition carrying out an unrelenting campaign of airstrikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported in October that the Saudi coalition, "with direct military support from the US and assistance from the UK," conducted at least 58 "unlawful airstrikes."In late February, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, said that around 10,000 people have been killed in the country since Saudi Arabia intervened, with 7 million people close to starvation.According to World Health Organization figures, more than 7,400 people have been killed, with around 1,400 of them being children. </s> Arab coalition warplanes bombed a security complex near the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, killing 60 people including inmates of a prison on the site, a regional official, relatives and medical sources said on Sunday.

The prison in the city’s al-Zaydiyah district was holding 84 inmates when it was struck three times late on Saturday, Hashem al-Azizi, deputy governor of the Houthi rebel-controlled Hodeidah province of the same name, told Reuters.

Local officials said the site lies within a security complex for the area guarded by Houthi militiamen but that only prison security guards were present during the night-time air strike.

The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting Yemen’s armed Houthi movement since March 2015 to try to restore the internationally recognised President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was driven into exile by the Iran-allied group in late 2014.

A Reuters witness at the security complex said the entire building was destroyed and medics pulled about 17 bodies away - many of them missing limbs - while others remained stuck under the rubble.

One of the strikes directly targeted the building, the witness added, bringing it down over the heads of the prisoners, while two others hit the gate of the complex and nearby administration buildings.

A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The air attack was one of the deadliest among thousands of bombings which have largely failed to dislodge the Houthis from the capital Sanaa but have repeatedly hit schools, markets, hospitals and homes, killing many civilians.

Rights groups have said the raids may amount to war crimes, but an investigative body set up by the coalition largely defended its methods in an August report which concluded that Houthi rebels regularly deploy to civilian sites.

The Houthis deny this, and a top official in the movement criticised the United Nations and the Saudis’ key ally and arms supplier, the United States, for not doing enough to hold the kingdom accountable for its air strikes.

“We condemmn the position of the international community and the UN for providing cover for the crimes of Saudi Arabia against Yemenis, and they are subject to the wishes of America,” Saleh al-Samad said in a statement late on Saturday.

The bombing may signal a renewed uptick in violence a day after Mr Hadi rejected a new UN peace proposal to end the turmoil in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country, saying the deal would only be a path to more war and destruction.

Speaking after meeting UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed in Riyadh, Mr Hadi said the agreement would “reward the rebels and penalise the Yemeni people and legitimacy”, according to the government-controlled Saba news agency.

According to a copy of the proposal seen by Reuters, the plan would sideline Mr Hadi and set up a government of less divisive figures.

Mr Hadi’s opponents accuse him of commanding only a small support base in Yemen and of being unable to bring its warring factions together given that he invited the Saudi-led coalition to intervene in the civil war. </s> At least 55 people have been killed after warplanes of the Saudi-led military coalition hit a hospital and a fishing harbor in Yemen’s western province of Hudaydah.

Yemen’s Health Ministry said the Thursday brutal strikes also left at least 130 wounded, some in critical condition.

Yemen’s Arabic-language al-Masirah television network, citing its correspondent, reported that Saudi-led jets struck al-Thorah Hospital in the provincial capital Hudaydah and a fishing port in the province almost simultaneously.

According to the correspondent, the death toll was expected to rise due to the magnitude of the airstrikes, particularly on the hospital.

The report also said that the attacked hospital had launched an urgent appeal for Yemeni citizens to donate blood.

On Wednesday, at least nine fishermen were killed after Saudi-led warplanes targeted their ship off the coast of Hudaydah.

Saudi Arabia and some 20 of its allies, including the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan, launched a brutal war, code-named Operation Decisive Storm, against Yemen in March 2015 in an attempt to reinstall former Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh, and crush the popular Ansarullah movement.

The offensive initially consisted of a bombing campaign, but was later coupled with a naval blockade and the deployment of ground forces into Yemen.

The imposed war, however, has so far failed to achieve its goal, thanks to firm resistance mounted by Yemeni troops and Houthi fighters in defense of the city. The war was also launched despite warnings that it would compound the impoverished nation’s humanitarian crisis.

The Yemeni Ministry of Human Rights announced in a statement on March 25 that the war had left 600,000 civilians dead and injured until then. The war and the accompanying blockade have also caused famine across Yemen.

The Saudi-led aggression has also taken a heavy toll on the country's infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories. The United Nations has already said that a record 22.2 million Yemenis are in need of food aid, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger.

Several Western countries, the United States and Britain in particular, are also accused of being complicit in the ongoing aggression as they supply the Riyadh regime with advanced weapons and military equipment as well as logistical and intelligence assistance. </s> (Reuters) - Twenty six people were killed and 35 others were wounded in Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the fishing port and fish market in the Yemeni city of Hodeidah, Yemeni medical sources told Reuters on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia and Sunni Muslim allies have been fighting in Yemen for three years against the Iran-aligned Houthis, who control much of north Yemen including the capital Sanaa and drove a Saudi-backed government into exile in 2014.

There was no immediate comment from the Saudi-led coalition. </s> At least 20 civilians were reportedly killed and dozens more hurt in Saudi air strikes. The Yemeni Red Cross said they were sending medical aid to the area after the vicinity of a local hospital was targeted.

According to the pro-Houthi Al Masirah broadcaster, more than 20 bodies of victims were transported to a military hospital. A spokesperson for the Houthi Healthcare Ministry said that the airstrike targeted ambulance cars at the entrance of the hospital.

On June 13, the Yemeni government forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, launched an offensive to seize the port of Al Hudaydah from the Shia Houthi rebels. The operation continues despite the UN warnings of a possible humanitarian catastrophe. The UN has estimated that 330,610 people fled the city from June 1 to July 24.

Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government headed by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi movement for several years. The Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf nations has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015. </s> At least 29 children have been killed and 30 wounded in a Saudi-led coalition air strike in Yemen, the International Committee of the Red Cross says.

The children were travelling on a bus that was hit at a market in Dahyan, in the northern province of Saada. </s> Airstrikes carried out by Saudi-led coalition jets struck a funeral ceremony in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, killing or injuring 616 people,according to the local health minister.

A missile tore through the hall of the building, leaving many dead and injured, Reuters reported earlier, quoting eyewitnesses.

According to the news agency, a medic said that he saw “mutilated and charred bodies,” adding that the funeral was being held for the deceased father of the Houthi rebels’ Interior Minister. Military and security officials from the rebel movement are among the victims, according to the outlet.

AP earlier reported that at least 45 people had been killed in the bombardment.

“The place has been turned into a lake of blood,” a rescuer, Murad Tawfiq, was quoted by the news agency as saying.

Earlier images of a destroyed building, partly still aflame, have emerged on social media, with some people alleging the devastation was caused by a Saudi-led coalition strike.

The Riyadh-led coalition meanwhile brushed aside all accusations. In a statement, the alliance said that “no air operations have been conducted in the area of the blast,” TASS reported.
Two prisons in Al Hudaydah, Yemen, are bombed by Saudi Arabian jets, leaving at least 60 dead.