US-engineered Saudi-GCC Coalition Air Strike Kills 22 in Yemen
MARCH 11, 2017 6:45PM
Reuters
At least 22 civilians have been killed and dozens more wounded in a Saudi-led coalition air strike which hit a market in western Yemen causing a fire to break out.
Missiles launched by fighter jets of the Arab alliance hit a market selling the mild narcotic leaf qat, which is popular among Yemenis, near the Red Sea fishing town of Khoukha on Friday.
Rescue workers battled a blaze in the market caused by the attack and pulled bodies out of the rubble, some of which were burnt beyond recognition, according to Hashim Azazi, deputy governor of Hodeidah province.
"All of those killed were civilians, none were holding weapons," Azazi said.
Khoukha and the nearby city of Hodeidah are controlled by Iran-allied Houthi fighters who in 2014 overran Yemen's capital Sanaa and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee into exile.
Yemeni government forces backed by Gulf Arab troops recaptured control of the southern Red Sea city of al-Mokha last month in a push that paved the way for an advance on Hodeidah, the country's main port city.
The Saudi-led coalition was formed in 2015 to fight the Houthis and troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh who have fired missiles into neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Friday's attacks were the latest in a series of coalition-led strikes that have hit schools, hospitals, markets and private homes.
Reuters
At least 22 civilians have been killed and dozens more wounded in a Saudi-led coalition air strike which hit a market in western Yemen causing a fire to break out.
Missiles launched by fighter jets of the Arab alliance hit a market selling the mild narcotic leaf qat, which is popular among Yemenis, near the Red Sea fishing town of Khoukha on Friday.
Rescue workers battled a blaze in the market caused by the attack and pulled bodies out of the rubble, some of which were burnt beyond recognition, according to Hashim Azazi, deputy governor of Hodeidah province.
"All of those killed were civilians, none were holding weapons," Azazi said.
Khoukha and the nearby city of Hodeidah are controlled by Iran-allied Houthi fighters who in 2014 overran Yemen's capital Sanaa and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee into exile.
Yemeni government forces backed by Gulf Arab troops recaptured control of the southern Red Sea city of al-Mokha last month in a push that paved the way for an advance on Hodeidah, the country's main port city.
The Saudi-led coalition was formed in 2015 to fight the Houthis and troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh who have fired missiles into neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Friday's attacks were the latest in a series of coalition-led strikes that have hit schools, hospitals, markets and private homes.
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