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The attack on Tuesday afternoon hit the group of civilians in the Mawza district of the southwestern province of Taiz.

Residents said the attack was carried out by a warplane from the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in support of Yemen's internationally recognised government.

The UNHCR said it was "deeply shocked and saddened at reports of the deaths and injuries of a number of internally displaced persons in an aerial attack" on the area.

The statement said the civilians had fled fighting in the nearby Mokha district, on the Red Sea coast.

Coalition-backed forces loyal to President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi recaptured the port of Mokha in February as part of a major ongoing offensive to drive rebels from Yemen's lengthy coastline.

"This latest incident once again demonstrates the extreme dangers facing civilians in Yemen, particularly those attempting to flee violence, as they disproportionately bear the brunt of conflict," the statement said.

This latest incident once again demonstrates the extreme dangers facing civilians in Yemen, particularly those attempting to flee violence, as they disproportionately bear the brunt of conflict

Blocking aid

On Tuesday, officials said the coalition blocked a UN flight carrying aid workers and BBC reporters from Djibouti to the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa.

"The coalition claimed that the security of the journalists could not be guaranteed in rebel-controlled areas and advised the three journalists to travel on commercial flights," said Ahmed Ben Lassoued, spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Yemen.

"It's unfortunate and partially explains why Yemen, which is one of the world's largest humanitarian crises, is not getting enough attention in international media," he added.

"The lack of coverage is also hindering humanitarians' effort to draw the attention of the international community and donors to the humanitarian catastrophe the country is experiencing," Ben Lassoued said.

The Saudi-led coalition, which intervened in the Yemen conflict two years ago in support of President Hadi against Houthi rebels, shut down Sanaa's international airport a year ago.

International rights groups have accused the coalition of bombing civilian gatherings, markets, hospitals, and residential areas across Yemen since the beginning of its campaign against Houthi rebels in 2015.

The war has been mired in stalemate for most of the last two years, with more than 10,000 civilians killed and three million displaced. 

The fighting has pushed the Arab world's poorest country to the brink of famine, and a cholera outbreak in recent months has killed more than 1,700 people.

Agencies contributed to this report