At Least 10 Students Killed In Yemen After Saudi Airstrike
The suspected air strike carried out by the Saudi-led coalition killed 10 students and injured more than 20 on a school in Yemen. A group of Yemeni Shiite rebels, Houthi, stationed in different parts of Yemen, has accused Saudi Arabia of leading the fatal attack.
The Saudi coalition bombed the small village school in the Saada district. According to the Telegraph, the airstrike took place early on Saturday morning as children on their summer vacation were gathering for the religious lessons. The area is supposed to be a power base for the Houthi rebels. For over past years, airstrikes have taken the lives of many civilians.
.@MSF received today 21 injured & 10 deaths in Haydan #Saada. All were under 15 years old. #Yemen pic.twitter.com/LVYzsBKVAa
— MSF Yemen (@msf_yemen) August 13, 2016
Medecins Sans Frontiere (MSF) confirmed the death of 10 children, with 28 other injured casualties. The group said that the victims were between 8- and 15-years-old.
According to ABC.net, Hassan Boucenine, the MSF head of mission in Yemen, said, “A bit before 10:00am we received the first 15 children.”
In 2015, a coalition of Arab nations led by Saudi Arabia began bombing major parts of Yemen in support of the country’s government against a Houthi rebel group.
Today Saudi Arabia killed children in #Saada #Yemen
The United Nations is silent ! pic.twitter.com/CMljitsCIR— ??? ?? ???? (@nemer_waily) August 13, 2016
The United Nations have accused the Saudi coalition of the bombing and said the coalition had already killed 2,000 civilians with its airstrikes.
The airstrike took place at around 9.15 a.m in the village of Juma at Bin Fadel in the Saada in northwest Yemen, as confirmed by Hisham al-Omeisy, a political analyst.
Reports suggest that the children who were studying in a religious school in the Juma’a Bin Fadil in Hayden lost their lives because of trauma and serious head injuries.
While this is the second airstrike in a week, the recent bombing took place in a potato chip factory in the capital Sanaa, where 13 civilians were killed.
Over the years, Yemen has been linked to possible airstrikes, adding the number of casualties. A similar strike occurred in April, 2015, when Saudi aircraft attacked a crowded marketplace in Mastaba, a village that lies in Yemen’s northern Hajjah governorate. The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) confirmed the death of over 119 people, including 22 children.
“I want peace, safety, school. I just want everything to become like before” Elias, 14, displaced in war-torn #Yemen pic.twitter.com/jdQMcBF8dt
— UNICEF (@UNICEF) August 12, 2016
Tens of thousands of children have been directly affected with many children undergoing chronic malnutrition. Human rights groups have accused the Saudi-led coalition of potentially killing thousands of civilians and committing a human rights violation.
The Islamic school says in a statement that the attack was a part of raids that have resumed after peace talks failed earlier this month between the Western and Saudi government of Yemen and Shiite Houthi rebels, who have seized the capital, Sanaa, and other regions.
10 more children killed in #Yemen today after the US backed #Saudi coalition bombed a school https://t.co/NxhOC37JvC pic.twitter.com/HrT62HQszE
— Sophie McNeill (@Sophiemcneill) August 13, 2016
Yemen has been the target of an air campaign led by a Saudi Arabian-led coalition carried under President Masur Hadi’s government. On September 5 last year, over 131 people were killed at a wedding in the village of Al-wahjah. Local people blamed the incident to the Saudi-coalition.
When the bomb fragment was discovered later from the rubble, it was found at the site that they came from the U.S.-made satellite-guided bomb. Both U.S. and U.K. have been linked heavily for supplying arms to Saudi Arabia. Activists have urged the United States and powerful European countries to stop backing Saudi Arabia with jets, bombs, and powerful weaponry, according to the Washington Post.
WAR CRIME: 20 children killed/injured by Saudi airstrike on #Yemen school in Saada today. Pics of dead kids graphic. pic.twitter.com/p2UFYq5voI
— Yemen Post Newspaper (@YemenPostNews) August 13, 2016
Great Britain has been linked to arms supply to the Gulf state, according to U.K.’s campaign against Arms Trade (CAAT). Since the campaign began in Yemen, GB has made over £3.2 billion in arms sales to Riyadh.
Strong piece by @CAATUK's Andrew Smith on UK complicity in #Yemen conflict https://t.co/HDGjCToCF9 via @HuffPostUK pic.twitter.com/eyVEb0P4CR
— Joe English (@JoeEEnglish) August 13, 2016
The Saudi Arabian coalition wants to keep Houthi militia from taking over Yemen and to reinstate President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who resigned and fled to the southern city of Aden when the conflict began early last year.
Several other Sunni Muslim states are in coalition to execute the plan and win control of the nation. These airstrikes have illustrated their goals to set their desired plan.
[Photo by Hani Mohammed/AP Photos]