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Saudi warplanes kill over 100 Yemenis ahead of ‘truce’

Tuesday, 12 May 2015 4:39 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 12 May 2015 4:39 PM ]

Smoke billows following an airstrike by Saudi warplanes in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, May 12, 2015. (© AFP)

Over a hundred people have been killed and more than 300 others injured in a series of new Saudi airstrikes on the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, and the southern city of Ta’izz hours before a temporary halt to the attacks is scheduled to take effect.

In Saudi air raids on an arms depot near the capital, Sana’a, nearly 70 people were killed.

Residents said attacks on Mount Noqum, on the eastern outskirts of Sana’a, lasted until midday on Tuesday.

The strikes set off huge explosions that sent debris crashing into a residential area at the foot of the mountain.

Medical sources said most of those killed and wounded by the explosions were civilians.

In Ta’izz, an airstrike on a residential area left at least 34 people dead and dozens more injured.

In addition to Ta’izz and the capital, Saudi warplanes targeted several other areas, including the northern city of Sa’ada.

Similar airstrikes have been reported in the western province of al-Hudaydah. At least seven people were killed and ten others injured in the attacks. Local officials said the Saudi jets launched four airstrikes against Zubayd district in the province, located about 325 kilometers (201 miles) west of Sana’a.

Smoke billows following an airstrike by Saudi warplanes in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, May 11, 2015. (© AFP)

The airstrikes were conducted hours ahead of the scheduled start of a halt to the Saudi strikes set for 11:00 p.m. local time (2000 GMT).

Saudi Arabia started its military aggression against Yemen on March 26 - without a UN mandate - in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement, which currently controls Sana’a and other major provinces, and to restore power to Yemen’s fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, who is a staunch ally of Riyadh.

According to the latest UN figures, the Saudi military campaign has so far claimed the lives of over 1,400 people and injured close to 6,000 people, roughly half of whom have been civilians.

JR/HSN/HJL

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