By Mohamed al-Samei

SANA’A (AA): At least 17 civilians were killed and 20 others injured in Saudi-led coalition attacks on minibuses in Yemen’s western strategic Hudaydah [Hodeidah] province, according to the United Nations on Sunday.

“This is a horrific incident,” Lise Grande, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, said in a statement.

“The United Nations agencies working in Yemen unequivocally condemn the attack on civilians and extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims,” she added.

The attacks reportedly struck the minibuses as they were traveling in Jabal Ras district in Hudaydah on Saturday. The dead included eight from one family.

“Under international humanitarian law, parties to the conflict are obliged to respect the principles of precaution, proportionality and distinction,” Grande said.

“Belligerents must do everything possible to protect civilians—not hurt, maim, injure or kill them,” she stressed.

According to UN estimates, more than 170 people have been killed and 1,700 others injured, while more than 425,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Hudaydah since June.

Impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Ansar Allah [Houthis] overran much of the country, including capital Sana’a.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

The ongoing violence has devastated Yemen’s basic infrastructure, prompting the UN to describe the situation as “one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times”.

[Archive photo: Civilian area bombed by Saudi led coalition at Swfan district of Sana’a on 9 August 2016.Photographer: Mohammed Hamoud/AA]