At Least 70 Killed As Saudi-Led Coalition Conducts Air Strikes in Yemen

Emergency workers searching for victims amidst the rubble in Saada, Yemen.

(Photo credits: Twitter/ICRC)

More than 70 people were killed in an air strike on a Yemeni prison, with another bombardment claiming the lives of at least three children as the conflict in Yemen escalated on Friday, 21 January.

Graphic footage of the attack, showing corpses in the rubble following the prison air strike, which razed the jail’s buildings in the north-western governorate of Saada was released by the Iran-backed Houthis, reported news agency AFP.

In the south, the Saudi-led coalition carried out attacks in the port city of Hodeida where they hit a telecommunications facility. The attack killed children playing in the area, said aid agency Save the Children.

In a joint statement, eight relief and aid agencies said that they were “horrified by the news” that over 70 people, including migrants and children were killed in a “blatant disregard” for civilian life, as per an AFP report.

They added that the prison that was attacked in Saada acted as a holding centre for migrants who made up most of the reported casualties.

'Hospitals Overwhelmed'

Doctors Without Borders said that hospitals in Saada were overwhelmed, with the city’s Al-Gumhourriyeh Hospital receiving over 138 wounded and 70 dead people.

"From what I hear from my colleague in Sa’ada there are many bodies still at the scene of the air strike, many missing people. It is impossible to know how many people have been killed. It seems to have been a horrific act of violence."

Ahmed Mahat, Head of Mission at Doctors Without Borders in Yemen

Speaking to the New York Times on a phone call, Saada health official Yahya Shaim noted that casualties had risen to 267, with 190 injured and 77 dead, with about 50 people still trapped in the debris.

The attack also caused a nationwide internet blackout.

Global internet monitor NetBlocks said that Yemen is in the “midst of a nation-scale Internet blackout “ following the attack in Hodeida, which was disrupting ground reports in the country. Save the Children added that the loss in connectivity would hamper its operations in Yemen.

The attacks come after Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a drone and missile attack in Abu Dhabi on Monday, 17 January, that claimed three lives, including two Indian nationals.

The Saudi-led coalition claimed the attack in the port city of Hodeida, but did not do so for the strikes in Saada, as per AFP

(With inputs from AFP and The New York Times)