The Saudi-led military coalition said it carried out more airstrikes in Yemen Saturday to help pro-government forces counter an advance on the city of Marib, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

 
The airstrikes came one day after a drone attack claimed by Houthi rebels started a fire at an oil refinery in Riyadh. The Saudi government said the fire was contained.
 
The Saudi Press Agency said the strike was to “thwart the Houthi militia’s attempt to advance toward Marib in Al-Kasrah.”
 

Iran-backed Houthi rebels are trying to capture central Marib province from Yemen’s globally recognized government in a campaign to gain full control over the northern half of Yemen.  
 
The Saudi-led coalition entered the civil war in Yemen in 2015 to defend the struggling government.
 
The war has claimed the lives of eight children and injured 33 others in a series of attacks this month alone, according to the United Nations International Children’s Relief Fund.
 
“We condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms,” UNICEF said in a statement Saturday. “Too often children and their families pay the highest price as conflict rages around them.”
 
UNICEF said the actual number of child deaths “are likely to be even higher” and called on the warring factions to protect vulnerable citizens and halt attacks on civilian communities.

VOA