News / Yemen

Fresh Saudi aerial attacks kill seven in Yemen

Thursday, 12 January 2017 8:16 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 12 January 2017 10:59 AM ]

A Yemeni Houthi Ansarullah fighter walks past destroyed houses in the old quarter of the northwestern city of Sa’ada, Yemen, on January 11, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

At least seven civilians have lost their lives when Saudi military aircraft carried out a series of airstrikes against residential areas in conflict-ridden Yemen.

A local source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said three women and four children were killed as Saudi fighter jets bombarded an area in the Bayt al-Faqih district of Yemen’s western coastal province of Hudaydah on Thursday morning, Arabic-language al-Masirah television network reported.

A number of Saudi artillery rounds hit al-Sheikh area of Monabbih district in the mountainous northwestern province of Sa’ada shortly afterwards, but there were no immediate reports of casualties and the extent of damage caused.

Yemeni forces and fighters from allied popular committees, in return, fired several rockets against the Alab border crossing in Saudi Arabia's southwestern border region of Asir, leaving scores of Saudi troopers and pro-Saudi militiamen loyal to the former government dead and injured.

They had earlier targeted a gathering of Saudi soldiers deployed behind al-Montazah military base in the Dhahran district of the kingdom’s Asir region, but no reports of casualties were available.

On Wednesday, Yemeni soldiers and their allies shot and killed two Saudi soldiers in the hilly Abu Dhabrah region of Saudi Arabia’s border region of Jizan.

Yemeni forces had lobbed a barrage of artillery shells at a military camp in Jabel Malhamah area of the same Saudi region earlier in the day, setting off a massive blaze.

On Wednesday evening, Saudi jets conducted two aerial attacks on al-Hali district in Hudaydah Province, with no reports of casualties.

The developments came as United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative in Yemen Meritxell Relano said almost 1,400 children have been killed and 2,140 injured as a result of the conflict in Yemen.

She added that some 2,000 schools have been destroyed, damaged or used for military purposes or as shelters for displaced families.

Relano further said UNICEF calls on all parties to the Yemen crisis to honor their obligations under international humanitarian law, and stop attacks on civilian infrastructure, including schools.

The Saudi war on Yemen, which has reportedly killed at least 11,400 Yemenis, was launched in an unsuccessful attempt to reinstate the former government.

The Saudi war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools and factories.

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