Probe opened after outcry

The Saudi-led coalition bombing rebels in Yemen launched a probe yesterday following international condemnation of an air raid that Doctors Without Borders said killed 11 people at a hospital it supports.

More than 19 people were also wounded in the strike that hit the hospital in Abs, in the rebel-held northern province of Hajja, the Paris-based aid agency said.

The hospital strike was the latest in a series of coalition raids that allegedly hit civilian facilities -- including a school on Saturday where 10 children were killed.

The coalition launched the bombing campaign in March last year after Shia Huthi rebels seized large parts of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa.

It stepped up air strikes this month after UN-mediated peace talks between the rebels and Yemen's internationally-backed government were suspended.

MSF said Monday's attack was the fourth on one of its facilities in less than a year.

Key Saudi ally Washington raised concerns about the reports, with State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau saying: "Strikes on humanitarian facilities, including hospitals, are particularly concerning."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon went further. "Hospitals and medical personnel are explicitly protected under international humanitarian law and any attack directed against them, or against any civilian persons or infrastructure, is a serious violation of international humanitarian law," Ban said in a statement.

Amnesty International termed the bombardment as "deplorable", saying it "appears to be the latest in a string of unlawful attacks targeting hospitals, highlighting an alarming pattern of disregard for civilian life".

A Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT), composed of members of the coalition, said it was aware of the reports and "has urgently launched an independent investigation". It promised to publicly announce findings of the probe.

    However, air strikes continued yesterday killing nine civilians east of Sanaa, residents said.

The UN says more than 6,400 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since March last year and more than 80 percent of the population is in need of humanitarian aid.