Saudi-led alliance airstrikes kill 17 people in Yemen, sources say

A Saudi-led air alliance struck areas controlled by Houthi rebels in Yemen's capital and in the province of Hodeida on Monday, killing 17 people.

Witnesses said the coalition carried out five airstrikes on a military camp in the region of Asser, west of the capital Sana'a, killing nine people.

In the province of Hodeida, 226 kilometres west of Sana'a, medical sources from the Houthi-controlled health office said the strikes killed eight civilians, including two women.

Yemen, one of the Arab world's poorest countries, has been embroiled in conflict between a Saudi-backed government and Houthi rebels for the past three years.

The conflict has intensified since March 2015, when the Houthis advanced on the government's temporary capital of Aden, prompting Saudi Arabia and Sunni allies to start an air campaign against the Shiite group.

The feud has devastated Yemen's health care system and left the country on the brink of famine.

The alliance has stepped up attacks in rebel-held areas in Yemen since December 4, when the Houthis killed former president and erstwhile ally Ali Abdullah Saleh after he shifted allegiances to the Saudis.

Saudi Arabia fears that the rebels will give its regional rival, Shiite Iran, a strategic foothold on the Arabian Peninsula.