Saudi coalition bombing kills 14 in Yemen ‘by mistake’

AFTER an air strike by the US-backed Saudi-led coalition in Yemen killed at least 14 people – including six children – on Friday, the alliance admitted responsibility.

“A technical mistake was behind the accident,” said the group.

Colonel Turki al-Malki, the coalition’s spokesperson, added that the group regretted “the collateral damage caused by this involuntary accident and offers its condolences to the families and relatives of the victims”. But he also deflected blame by accusing Houthis of “setting up a command and communications centre in the middle of this residential area to use civilians as human shields”.

Friday’s attack came just days after 35 people were killed by air strikes that hit the northern part of Sana’a.

The carnage led to mass protests in the Yemeni capital against the bloody campaign waged by the Saudis. A raidon the same day on civilians outraged human rights organisations worldwide.

The International Committee of the Red Cross condemned it as “outrageous”.

Lynn Maalouf, the Middle East research director of Amnesty International, said the coalition had “rained down bombs on civilians while they slept”, and called for the UN to take action against Saudi Arabia for its civilian casualties in Yemen.

According to the World Health Organisation, about 8 400 civilians have been killed and another 47 800 wounded since the alliance intervention began.

Great infrastructural damage and a blockade preventing medical supplies from reaching Houthi-controlled areas have led to a cholera outbreak that has killed at least 2 000 people since April.