By Zakaria al-Kamali
SANA’A (AA): Saudi-led airstrikes on a water well north of the Yemeni capital Sanaa [Sana’a] have killed 30 people, the UN human coordinator for Yemen has said.
Jamie McGoldrick said 17 people, including first responders and children, were injured in Saturday’s attack in Beit Saadan village of Arhab District.
“I remain deeply disturbed by the unrelenting attacks on civilians and on civilian infrastructure throughout Yemen by all parties to the conflict, which are further destroying Yemen’s social fabric and increasing humanitarian needs, particularly for medical attention at a time when the health sector is collapsing,” McGoldrick said in a statement Monday.
There was no comment from the Saudi-led coalition, which has been carrying out airstrikes against positions held by Yemen’s Shia Muslim Ansar Allah [Houthi] group.
Yemen’s official news agency SABA, which is controlled by Houthi group, has reported that 100 people were killed or wounded in the airstrikes. Witnesses said an initial airstrike killed 13 people, but then a number of rescuers were killed in subsequent airstrikes. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
The UN official called on Yemen’s warring parties to recommit to an April 10 ceasefire.
“By doing so, they will help avoid further loss of life in Yemen and help position Yemen on a path towards peace,” he said.
Yemen has been ravaged by civil war since late 2014, when Houthi group overran the capital Sanaa and forced the government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi to flee to Riyadh.
The conflict escalated last year when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies, supported militarily by US and UK, launched a massive military campaign aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and restoring Hadi’s government.
UN-brokered peace talks between the Yemeni government and Houthis have failed to make any tangible breakthrough.
More than 3 million Yemenis have been displaced by the ongoing conflict in the Arab country, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
[Photo: Smoke rises after warcrafts belonging the Saudi-led coalition carried out an airstirke over Sana’a, Yemen on August 31, 2016.
Photographer: Mohammed Hamoud/AA]
