Air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen have killed at least 16 civilians in Yemen, which included 7 children and 4 women. Saudi Arabia continues to lead the horrifying war in Yemen, which is being called by many as one of the largest humanitarian crises in modern day history.
Those killed were in an apartment building in Al Fakher, in the southern district of Al-Daleh province in Qataba. Many more were injured in the air strikes by Saudi Arabia, who were all rushed to the nearby hospital. While the number is currently as 16 killed, many of those injured include small children who have lost their entire families.
Save the Children, a humanitarian group who works in the region, stated:
Attacks like this happen almost on a daily basis…These children should not be victims of this conflict. Yet, they have paid the highest price imaginable. We’re calling for an independent investigation into the attack and for perpetrators to be held to account.”
The Saudi-led coalition has been ongoing since the crisis in Yemen erupted in 2015, with Houthi rebels fighting against the then Saudi-backed Yemeni President Hadi. Saudi Arabia, in partnership with countries such as the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Sudan, and Egypt, have contributed to a war that has killed almost 100,000 Yemeni civilians, with an estimated 14 million at risk of starvation and death due to the continued war and fighting. The Houthi rebels condemned this most recent attack, stating:
The aggressors do not understand the message of peace…but only messages of drones and of missile power.”
The Houthi rebels have most recently been public about their supposed involvement in the recent drone strike on Saudi’s oil facilities, which has boiled over into a large-scale international crisis. Ignoring the Houthi claim of responsibility for the attacks, Saudi Arabia presented somewhat questionable evidence at a press conference that showed Iran as being fully behind the attack. While Iran continues a stance of non-involvement and denial, the US has passionately backed Saudi’s claims that Iran was behind the attack, with the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stating this attack constitutes as an “act of war”.
Human rights groups as well as the UN have called the war in Yemen one of the most horrifying humanitarian crises in modern day history, with evidence of a severe mishandling and abuse of human rights by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. With reports of unlawful airstrikes, arbitrary torture and detentions, the blockage of humanitarian aid, and the indiscriminate killing of civilians, Saudi Arabia and its coalition remain guilty of one of the worst cases of human rights abuses in our world today.
