SANAA (AP):

Saudi-led air strikes targeting Shiite rebels killed at least 30 people, mostly civilians, when they hit a market area outside the capital yesterday, Yemeni security officials said.

They said the raid hit the popular market in the Nihm district, killing at least 22 civilians and leaving burned bodies strewn across the area. The officials, who are neutral in a conflict that has split the armed forces, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief reporters.

The strike came a day after aid and rights groups urged Western countries to stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia, which is striking the Iran-backed rebels, known as Houthis, to support forces loyal to the internationally recognised government. The Houthis overran the capital, Sanaa, and other Yemeni cities in 2014.

The United Nations says the fighting in Yemen has killed more than 6,000 people since March 2015 and wounded more than 35,000.