A hospital in north Yemen run by medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) was bombed yesterday in a Saudi-led air strike, wrecking the facility and lightly wounding two staff members.
A Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in Yemen’s civil war in March to try to restore its government after its toppling by Iran-allied Houthi forces.
However, but a mounting civilian death toll has alarmed human rights groups.
“Our hospital in the Heedan district of Saada governorate was hit several times. Fortunately, the first hit damaged the operations theatre while it was empty and the staff were busy with people in the emergency room They just had time to run off as another missile hit the maternity ward,” MSF country director Hassan Boucenine told Reuters from Yemen.
Fortunately, the first hit damaged the operations theatre while it was empty and the staff were busy in the emergency room
“It could be a mistake, but the fact of the matter is it's a war crime. There’s no reason to target a hospital. We provided (the coalition) with all of our GPS coordinates about two weeks ago,” he said. At least two staff members were hurt by flying debris, according to Mr Boucenine. The air raid occurred in north Yemen’s Saada province, a region controlled by Houthi forces. The state news agency Saba, run by the Houthis, said other air strikes hit a nearby girls school and damaged several civilian homes.
It was not immediately possible to confirm that report, and a coalition spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
An MSF hospital was bombed in an American air strike in Kunduz in northern Afghanistan on October 3, killing 22 people including 12 MSF staff. US President Barack Obama apologised for that attack, but MSF continues to call for an independent humanitarian commission to investigate what it calls a war crime.
“It is precisely because attacking hospitals in war zones is prohibited that we expected to be protected,” MSF director Joanne Liu said this month.
Seven months of air strikes in Yemen by Saudi Arabia and other US-allied Gulf Arab countries have yet to loosen the Houthis’ grip on the capital Sanaa and make headway toward restoring the now Saudi-based Yemeni government to power.