Deadly blast hits Yemen wedding hall killing several women

At least five women have been killed in war-torn Yemen when a projectile exploded at a wedding that was being held on New Year's Day in the Red Sea port city of Hudaida.

The government and Houthi rebel forces blamed each other for the Friday night bombing of the hall near Hodeida's airport, a frontline between the warring sides on the edge of the Houthi-held town.

It came just two days after at least 26 people were killed in blasts that rocked the airport of the southern city of Aden as government ministers got off a plane.

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General Sadek Douid, the government representative in a UN-sponsored joint commission overseeing a truce, condemned the Hudaida blast, which also left seven wounded, as "an odious crime committed by the Houthis against civilians".

Hudaida's Houthi-appointed governor, Mohammed Ayache, said on al Masirah television, which is run by the Shiite rebels, that "the forces of aggression never hesitate to blame others for their crimes".

Saudi-backed government forces launched an offensive in June 2018 to retake Hudaida, the main entry point for humanitarian aid to poverty-stricken Yemen.

But a ceasefire has been partially observed since December of the same year.

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