Saudi-led Coalition Conducts 26 Air Raids on Yemen's North, West – Houthi Spokesman

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Saudi-led coalition has conducted 26 air raids on Yemen's northern and western provinces despite the alliance's step towards a ceasefire in the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Yahya Sarai, the spokesman for the Houthi rebel movement, said on Wednesday.

"Air forces of the Saudi-US [coalition] launched more than 26 air raids, with 18 of them [having been conducted] on the districts of Majzar and Sarwah in the Marib [northeastern province], six on the district of Khabb Wa Shaaf in the Jawf province [in the northwest]", Sarai said.

He added that two more air raids were conducted on the northern province of Saada and the western Bayda.

Smoke rises after Saudi-led airstrikes hit a food factory in Sanaa, Yemen. (File)

© AP Photo / Hani Mohammed

The news comes after on 10 April, the legitimate government’s foreign minister, Mohammed Al-Hadhrami, said that the coalition’s ceasefire became a necessity, and called on the warring parties to join the efforts in the fight against COVID-19.

The coalition announced on 8 April that it would halt all military operations for two weeks in response to a UN call for a global ceasefire due to the worldwide crisis.

Yemen has been facing a long-running armed conflict between the government forces, led by President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, and the Houthi rebels, which has resulted in a massive humanitarian crisis.