In Yemen, a Saudi-led coalition air strike killed 29 people at a crowded marketplace and a hotel in the heartland of the Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels in northern Yemen on Wednesday. <br/><br/>The rebel-controlled Saba news agency said the hotel and market in Sahar were crowded with workers and stall owners when the area was hit. <br/><br/>The coalition, which has faced repeated international criticism over civilian casualties, said it was investigating the reports without claiming responsibility for the attack in Saada governorate. <br/><br/>Human rights groups have urged governments backing the coalition, including the United States, Britain and France, to suspend all weapons sales to the Gulf monarchy. <br/>The war pits forces loyal to the internationally recognised government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, which was expelled from the capital Sanaa in September 2014, against the Huthi rebels who drove them out and continue to control swathes of northern Yemen. <br/><br/>According to the UN, more than 8,670 people have been killed and 49,900 injured in air strikes and fighting on the ground since March 2015.<br/><br/>The conflict has also left 20.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, created the world's largest food security emergency.<br/>><<<