SANAA

 At least 60 civilians were killed Tuesday in airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition in western Yemen, the Shiite Houthi group has said.

Warplanes struck a market in the western Al-Hudayda province, killing 20 people and injuring more than 50 others, a source was quoted as saying by the Houthis-run Yemeni news agency.

Forty people were also killed and more than 50 others injured in airstrikes in Hajjah province in western Yemen, the agency said.

The agency quoted a local source as saying that the strikes targeted a prison compound and residential areas in the province's Abas district

There was no comment from the Saudi-led coalition on the report.

Fractious Yemen has remained in turmoil since last September, when the Houthis overran capital Sanaa, from which they sought to extend their influence to other parts of the country.

On March 25, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies began an extensive military campaign targeting Houthi positions across Yemen.

Riyadh says its air campaign comes in response to appeals by Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi for military intervention against the Houthis.

The Houthis, meanwhile, denounce the offensive as an unwarranted "Saudi-American aggression" on Yemen.