UK demands Yemen ceasefire amid another day of bloodshed

The UK will demand an immediate ceasefire in Yemen following another day of bloodshed in the country.

A draft resolution calling for a halt in fighting will be presented to the UN Security Council, British ambassador to the UN Matthew Rycroft said.

It comes on the day four people were killed when a bomb exploded at a funeral of a pro-government army officer in Marib province, as retaliation attacks for Saturday's funeral massacre in rebel-held Sanaa continue. 

"We have decided to put forward a draft Security Council resolution on Yemen calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a resumption of the political process," British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said.

The decision to seek a formal resolution came after Russia blocked a statement drafted by Britain that condemned the Saudi-led coalition airstrike that killed more than 140 people last week.

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the statement was "wishy-washy," and called for "some very serious thinking" on how to address the deteriorating situation in Yemen.

Russia, which has friendly relations with Iran, has criticized Western backing for the coalition and pointed to the carnage in Yemen in response to criticism of Moscow's campaign in Syria.

The airstrike on a funeral hall in the capital was one of the deadliest attacks in the country since Houthis overran the internationally-recognised government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

This week has seen multiple retaliatory attacks after former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is allied with the Houthi rebels, called for "revenge".

On Friday, four people were killed and ten wounded when an explosion struck a tent during the memorial ceremony for General Abdelrab Sheddadi, who himself died this week during clashes with the rebels, a security source told AFP.

It is not known who was responsible for the attack.

On the same day, a Saudi Arabian border force guard was killed after Houthi rebels fired mortar rounds into the kingdom's southern Jazan province.

More than 10,000 people most of them civilians have been killed in Yemen since the Saudi-led coalition intervened in March 2015, according to the United Nations.