Yemeni doctors say airstrikes, fighting kill 13 civilians

SANAA, Yemen – Yemeni medical and tribal officials say airstrikes and artillery have killed 13 civilians in fighting near the Saudi border, the latest episode of non-combatants paying the highest toll in the country’s civil war.

They say an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition battling Shiite rebels killed nine civilians in the Shada area of Saada province, a rebel stronghold. Rebel artillery targeting Saudi forces in turn hit the village of Mashnaqa, killing four more civilians, in an exchange of border fire that lasted several hours on Monday. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting the rebels since March 2015, in a war that has killed more than 10,000 civilians. The United Nations has criticized Saudi-led airstrikes for killing civilians.