40 killed in airstrike on refugee camp in Yemen: Ministry

A Saudi-led airstrike on Monday hit a refugee camp in Yemen, killing more than 40 people and injuring 250, Yemen's defence ministry, which is controlled by Shia Houthi militia, said.

The refugee camp in the northern Haradh district, which borders Saudi Arabia, had 4,000 people at the time of the attack. The casualties included women and children, the ministry said without providing further details, according to Xinhua.

The warplanes of Saudi-led Arab coalition forces continued raiding the Yemeni capital of Sanaa and other major provinces on Monday, as the airstrikes against the Shia Houthi group entered the fifth day.

The airstrikes targeted weapons depots and missiles bases on mountains overlooking the capital, as well as al-Dailami Airforce Base in northern Sanaa.

Huge explosions rocked the capital as smoke and fire could be seen at the targeted sites. There is no immediate report on casualties.

Official Saba news agency, which is controlled by the Houthis, reported on Saturday that death toll from the airstrikes over the past four days rose to 48, with 157 injured.

On March 26, Saudi Arabia and fellow Gulf Cooperation Council member states launched airstrikes on Houthi positions in Yemen, a move condemned by Iran but supported by the US, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco.

Saudi Arabia said the Saudi-led military airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen will continue until security is restored and Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who fled the country last week, is able to rule.

The Shia Houthi forces ousted Yemeni President Hadi in February and forced him to flee the capital city Sanaa to the southern port city of Aden, turning Yemen into a field of violence and raising fears of a civil war in the country.