A bombardment carried out by Saudi-led coalition jets has rocked a funeral ceremony in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, killing or injuring 616 people.
The Saudi-led coalition targeted a building hosting a Houthi funeral ceremony, killing a total of 82 people, local Health Minister Ghazi Ismail said during a press briefing. According to the official, 534 more have been wounded as a result.
Ismail’s deputy, Abdul-Salam al-Madani, said that the bombardment was carried out by the Riyadh-led coalition jets. A missile tore through the hall of the building, leaving many dead and injured.
Tensions in Yemen spiraled after President Ali Abdullah Saleh was deposed in 2012. In response, his Houthi supporters – reportedly aided by Iran – seized the capital city of Sanaa in 2014, before advancing to the south and seizing large parts of Yemen, forcing current Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile.
In March of 2015, the Saudi-led coalition began airstrikes in order to stop Houthi advances and restore Hadi to power. By late summer of that year, Saudi-led forces had launched a ground operation as well.
One of the deadliest attacks occurred after the coalition’s aircraft attacked a crowded marketplace in Mastaba, a village in Yemen’s northern Hajja governorate in April. The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, put the death toll from that airstrike at 119, including 22 children.
In August, at least 11 people were killed and 19 injured in an airstrike that targeted a hospital in northwestern Hajjah province, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Earlier that month, at least 10 children were killed and almost 30 injured at a school in northwest Yemen, MSF reported. That strike was also blamed on the Saudi-led coalition.
0 Comments
Any Comment?