THE Saudi Arabia-led coalition has launched more than 250,000 air strikes on Yemen during seven years of war which has killed tens of thousands of people, the country’s armed forces said today. 

Brigadier General Yahya Saree said “the criminal raids” had also destroyed civilian infrastructure and accused Riyadh of using internationally prohibited weapons on the Yemeni people daily.

“Yemen has been subjected to more than 274,000 air raids waged by the Saudi-led coalition warplanes for seven years,” the military leader said.

He poured scorn on those continuing to arm Saudi Arabia with weapons used in its deadly war.

The US State Department recently approved the sale of $650 million (£478m) of air-to-air missiles to the Gulf kingdom along with a helicopter maintenance deal worth $500m (£360m).

“Those who claim to be concerned about the people of Yemen should remove their hand from our people and stop interfering in the affairs of our country,” Gen Saree said. 

A UN report released last November said that at least 377,000 people had been killed since the start of the Saudi-led war in March 2015.