Seven killed in Yemen air strike — Save the children

DUBAI: At least seven people, including four children, were killed and eight injured in an air strike near a hospital in Yemen, Save the children said on Tuesday.

“Four children were among seven people killed today when a hospital supported by Save the Children in Yemen was hit by an airstrike,” Save the Children said in a statement.

“Two other adults are unaccounted for.

“A missile struck a petrol station near the entrance to Ritaf rural hospital, about 100 kilometres from the city of Saada in the northwest of the country, at 9.30am.”

Among those killed were health workers and security guards, said Save the Children, calling for “an urgent investigation into the latest atrocity”.

“We are shocked and appalled by this outrageous attack,” said Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the chief executive of Save the Children International.

“This hospital is just one of the many Save the Children supports across Yemen, delivering lifesaving aid to children living in what is the worst place on earth to be a child.

“These children have the right to be safe in their hospitals, schools and homes. But time after time, we see a complete disregard by all warring parties in Yemen for the basic rules of war. Children must be protected.”

The Saudi-backed government has been battling the Iranaligned Huthi rebels since 2014 in a war that has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. — AFP