Saudi-led strike kills 10 Yemeni factory workers: medics

Saudi Arabia denies coalition hit Yemen MSF hospital

CAIRO, Oct 29, (Agencies): Warplanes from a Saudi-led military coalition bombed a bus carrying workers to a factory in the southwestern Yemeni city of Taiz on Thursday, killing 10 of them, medics said.

The attack took place as battles for control of Yemen’s third-largest city rage, with Gulf Arab countries backing local Islamist militias against the Iran-allied Houthi group.

A spokesman for the alliance did not respond to a request for comment.

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab countries have been bombing the Houthis since late March to restore Yemen’s Riyadh-based government to power and push back what they see as Iranian encroachment in their backyard.

At least 5,600 people have been killed in air raids and nationwide battles since the conflict began, and rights groups have criticized the coalition for a series of errant mass-casualty strikes, including a hospital in northern Yemen on Tuesday.

The alliance has denied responsibility for that attack and most other deadly attacks on civilian targets.

Saudi Arabia has denied that coalition air strikes hit a hospital in Yemen run by medical charity MSF after the attack was condemned by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The hospital in the northern city of Saada was hit late Monday, but MSF (Doctors Without Borders) said there were no casualties.

The Saudi mission to the United Nations said in a statement that “the Arab coalition aircrafts did not attack the hospital” and were not in Saada at the time.

Coalition forces had been given the exact coordinates of the hospital which were placed “within the forbidden targets,” the Saudi statement said.

“Accordingly, this hospital could not have been targeted by the coalition forces,” it added.

The Saudi mission said a thorough investigation was under way and expressed its “deep regret” that Ban had blamed the coalition “without waiting for full and accurate information about that regrettable incident.”

In a statement issued Tuesday, Ban condemned the air strikes which he said had been carried out by the Saudi-led coalition and called for an investigation.

Saudi-led military operations in Yemen are nearing their end as the focus turns to political talks, Britain’s foreign minister said Wednesday, but heavy fighting continued in the city of Taez.

“We detect the military phase of this campaign is coming to a close as the coalition forces have established a dominant military position,” Philip Hammond told reporters after talks with King Salman and leading members of the royal family.

He said they focused on the need “for now accelerating the political discussion” and ensuring the Huthi rebels and their allies engage in “serious and sensible” talks.

The UN special envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, said on Friday the Huthis and backers of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh had “clearly committed” to carrying out Security Council Resolution 2216.

Adopted in April, it calls for a negotiated withdrawal by the rebels from key cities and a surrender of all heavy weapons to the state.

The envoy said the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi had agreed to send a delegation to the forthcoming negotiations, for which no date has been set.

Previous attempts to hold negotiations collapsed but Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said: “We’re optimistic that the talks will lead somewhere.”

At a news conference with Hammond, Jubeir also said military action appeared to be heading towards a conclusion.