U.N.: In 1 day, air strikes killed 68 civilians in Yemen

During one day this week, 68 Yemeni civilians, including at least eight children and 14 members of the same family, were killed when a Saudi Arabia-led coalition conducted two air strikes in the country, U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen Jamie McGoldrick said Thursday.

The war in Yemen is "absurd" and "futile," McGoldrick said, and the only way it can end is through negotiations, not fighting. The first air strike killed 54 people and wounded 32 more inside a crowded market in Taez province, and the second killed 14 members of a family in Hodeidah province. Over 10 days earlier this month, "escalated and indiscriminate attacks throughout Yemen" killed 41 civilians and wounded 43.

Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, have control of the capital Sana'a. Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition against the Houthis, and by extension Iranian aggression, and increased its air strikes this month after insurgents fired a ballistic missile at the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Everyone involved shows a "complete disregard for human life," McGoldrick said, and civilians are "being punished as part of a futile military campaign by both sides." It's been estimated the war has left at least 10,000 people dead, and there are eight million civilians without enough food and one million with cholera.

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