The Saudi-led military coalition has carried out a series of airstrikes across Yemen, killing dozens and hitting an ambulance of a Médecins Sans Frontières hospital, according to Yemeni officials, rebel media and a statement by the charity.

The charity, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said the ambulance driver had been killed in a strike on the northern town of Dahyan on Thursday. Dahyan is part of Saada province, the stronghold of Shia rebels who control much of the country including the capital, Sana’a. The rebels, known as Houthis, announced that airstrikes in Dahyan had killed 26 people.



In Sana’a, officials said that 22 people were killed in strikes that targeted the mountain of Nahdeen, which is believed to have weapon caches. In Dhamar, Taiz, and Jawf, similar airstrikes targeted gatherings of Houthis and allied army units.

In the port city of Hodeida, at least 10 civilians were killed when airstrikes targeted lorries carrying smuggled oil from the port, according to officials. The officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the press.

Yemen’s civil war began when the Houthi rebels, allied with a former Yemeni president, overran the capital in September 2014. In March 2015, a coalition of countries led by Saudi Arabia began airstrikes and later, a ground operation to retake the country.

More than 5,800 people have been killed and more than 80% of Yemen’s population is in dire need of food, water and other aid, according to the United Nations.