SANAA (AFP).- Images of an emaciated child crying and a boy hobbling on crutches are among more than 100 paintings on display in Yemen's rebel-held capital aimed at highlighting the human suffering of war.

The week-long exhibition, inaugurated by rebel leaders, is being held at an ultramodern gallery that stands in sharp contrast to the rest of conflict-scarred Sanaa.

"It's a message to all humanity," said Akram Yahya Baker, head of the People's Development Foundation, considered close to the rebels.

Art enthusiast Fouad Naji sees in the exhibition a "sign of resistance despite the wounds and blockade".

The show, which opened on Saturday, is the result of a workshop launched in early 2018 that saw artists visit bomb sites in Sanaa for inspiration, according to organisers.

Yemen's capital, controlled by the Iran-backed Huthi Shiite insurgents, is frequently bombed by the warplanes of a Saudi-led coalition that intervened in 2015 on the side of the government.

The conflict has left around 10,000 people dead and more than 56,000 wounded since 2015, according to the World Health Organization, though aid workers believe the actual toll is much higher.

The war, coupled with an air and sea blockade, has ravaged the already weak economy and created what the UN has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.


© Agence France-Presse