Scores Dead by Saudi-UAE attack on Sa’ada صَعْدَة and Hodeidah الْحُدَيْدَة
A series of Saudi-led airstrikes that have killed dozens in Yemen on Friday as civilians, including children, continue to suffer the deadly effects of a years-long US-backed conflict. Among the overnight bombings was one targeting a mostly migrant prison in the northern city of Sa’ada , an area reportedly under the control of Houthi forces.
“It is impossible to know how many people were killed. It looks like it was a horrific act of violence,” said Ahmed Mahat, head of mission for MSF in Yemen. The city’s hospital has “taken in 138 injured and 70 dead” and is “so overwhelmed that it can’t take more patients,” MSF said.
Attacks were also made further south in the port city of Hodeidah. Aid group Save the Children said at least three children, as well as more than 60 adults, were killed in a series of strikes, although the number of confirmed casualties is likely to rise. The children who died during the strike in Hodeidah were playing in a nearby football field.
“Children are bearing the brunt of this crisis,…,The human toll we are seeing in Yemen is unacceptable,.., Migrants seeking a better life for themselves and their families, dozens of wounded Yemeni civilians is an image we never hoped to wake up to in Yemen.
Gillian Moyes, national director Save the Children
The Biden administration, like previous administrations, has received requests to cut off the supply of weapons and other support to Saudi Arabia, which has been used to carry out the bombing of Yemen, which is estimated to have killed more than 300,000 Yemenis since 2015, and the United States of Nations called the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
The ICRC has sounded the alarm about the recent escalation of violence in Yemen.
Protecting the lives of people in armed conflict is very important. I want to see these kids when they go to bed at night. The casualties we are seeing in Yemen are unacceptable
Fabrizio Carboni, the ICRC’s regional director for the Near and Middle East, said on Thursday
The deadly attacks came after a statement on Tuesday by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights which also expressed concern over the rise in violence in Yemen
Dozens of air and artillery strikes with a clear disregard for civilians, the fighting has damaged civilian facilities and critical infrastructure, including telecommunications towers and water tanks, as well as hospitals in Sana’a and Taiz.
Ravina Shamdasani UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
There has been several reports on war crimes in reports previously.
1- War Crimes Report on Yemen Accuses Saudi Arabia and U.A.E. – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
2- World Report 2020: Yemen | Human Rights Watch (hrw.org)
3- Yemen war: Lawyers submit case to UK police accusing UAE, Saudi | Conflict News | Al Jazeera
4- UN experts accuse Saudi Arabia, U.A.E. of war crimes in Yemen | CBC News
