Saudi-led airstrikes kill 68 civilians in one day of Yemen's 'absurd' war
Source: The Guardian
Sixty-eight Yemeni civilians were killed in two air raids by the Saudi-led coalition in one day, the UNs humanitarian coordinator in Yemen has said, as he condemned what he described as an absurd and futile war.
Jamie McGoldricks unusually direct criticism came in an update citing initial reports from the UN human rights office of the two strikes earlier this week. The first hit a crowded market in Taez province, killing 54 civilians, including eight children, and wounding 32 others, McGoldrick said. The second was in the Red Sea province of Hodeidah and killed 14 people from the same family.
I remain deeply disturbed by mounting civilian casualties caused by escalated and indiscriminate attacks throughout Yemen, McGoldrick said. In addition to the casualties from Tuesdays two air raids, another 41 civilians were killed and 43 wounded over the previous 10 days of fighting, he said.
The Arab coalition intensified its air campaign targeting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels after 19 December, when Saudi air defences intercepted a ballistic missile the insurgents had fired at the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The Saudis claim to be on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, which is held by the Houthi rebels.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/28/saudi-led-airstrikes-yemen-war-united-nations