Saudi-led coalition airstrike kills 20 Yemeni civilians

At least 20 displaced Yemeni civilians were killed in an airstrike, a United Nations statement said on Wednesday.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – At least 20 displaced Yemeni civilians were killed in an airstrike, a United Nations statement claimed on Wednesday.

The attack occurred on Tuesday afternoon in the Mawza district of the southwestern province of Taez, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stated.

Witnesses said the group were displaced and mostly from the same family.

Residents in the area believed a Saudi-led coalition warplane was responsible for the air raid.

The coalition is engaged in an ongoing battle against Shia rebels in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

According to the UNHCR statement, the agency was “deeply shocked and saddened at reports of the deaths and injuries of a number of internally displaced persons in an aerial attack.”

The civilians were fleeing clashes in the nearby Mokha district, on the Red Sea coast, the report added.

Saudi-led coalition forces supporting Yemen President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi recaptured the port of Mokha in February.

The major offensive aiming to push rebels from Yemen’s long coastline is ongoing.

“This latest incident once again demonstrates the extreme dangers facing civilians in Yemen,” the UNHCR emphasized.

“Particularly, those attempting to flee violence, as they disproportionately bear the brunt of the conflict,” the statement continued.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 8,000 people have been killed in the country’s conflict, a majority of them civilians.

In March 2015, the coalition launched the military operation as rebels put pressure on President Hadi who was at the time taking refuge in southern Aden.

The Yemeni leader is now in Riyadh where he was forced to flee.

 

Editing by G.H. Renaud