Air strikes by an Arab coalition targeting Yemen’s dominant Houthi group killed at least 15 people late on Monday, residents said, hours before a ceasefire was due to take effect to pave the way for United Nations (UN)-sponsored peace talks in Switzerland.
Residents said war planes launched two raids on the village of Bani al-Haddad, in the northern Hajjah province on the border with Saudi Arabia, killing 13 people and wounding 20 others. Two more residents died while medics were trying to evacuate them, they said.
A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition could not be reached for immediate comment but the alliance says it does not target civilians.
The coalition has said that the ceasefire requested by Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to facilitate the planned peace talks in Switzerland would start at noon local time (0900 GMT) on Tuesday.
In a statement carried by Saudi state news agency SPA, the coalition said that Arab forces retained the right to respond to any breach of the ceasefire.
The coalition has been waging mainly air strikes on the Houthis since March, after the rebels seized control of much of the country in a series of moves that started in September 2014.
