Saudi Arabia denies striking Yemen wedding party
MECCA, Saudi Arabia — The spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition striking Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen denies it launched airstrikes that hit a wedding party.
Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri tells The Associated Press Wednesday that “we did not conduct any operations in that area two days ago,” referring to Monday’s incident, in which more than 130 people were killed in the deadliest single event of Yemen’s civil war.
Asiri says there is no evidence of what caused the deaths, and that ordinary civilians cannot distinguish between airstrikes, missiles, cannon fire or local explosions.
Yemeni security and medical officials in the central province of Taiz, where the strikes took place, said 131 people were killed, including at least 80 women.
The U.N. says at least 2,355 civilians have been killed in Yemen’s fighting since March.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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