Yemeni Civilians Killed by Airstrike on Market, Witnesses Say
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Version 0 of 1. SANA, Yemen — A United States-backed Arab military coalition bombed a busy market north of Yemen’s capital early Saturday, killing at least 30 people, witnesses said. The death toll was among the highest from a single bombing in recent months, and seemed likely to bolster calls for an international arms embargo on Saudi Arabia, which leads the coalition. That coalition has been fighting for nearly a year to defeat a Yemeni rebel group known as the Houthis, and to restore the internationally recognized government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi. While the Saudis have struggled to achieve any of their combat goals, Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country, has been dragged into an increasingly intractable and punishing civil conflict. Forces allied with the coalition have gained control of parts of southern Yemen, including the city of Aden, but are facing a violent challenge from Sunni extremist groups that have gained strength during the war, including local branches of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. Further north, the city of Taiz has been devastated by fighting between the Houthis, who have besieged the city and pounded it with artillery, and local fighters who have been joined by Qaeda militants. The Saudi-led bombing campaign has been concentrated in northern Yemen, which is largely controlled by the Houthis and their allies. Coalition airstrikes have landed on markets, homes, hospitals, factories and ports, and are responsible for the majority of the nearly 3,000 civilian deaths during the war, according to the United Nations. In response to the airstrikes, European lawmakers earlier this week voted in favor of a nonbinding resolution that condemned the escalation of violence by the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition, and called on the European Union to impose an arms embargo on the Saudi government. Britain and France are major suppliers of weapons to the Saudi government. The Obama administration has sought to distance itself from the civilian casualties, but at the same time provides diplomatic backing and military support to the coalition. Saudi Arabia recently said that American and British military advisers were helping the coalition improve its targeting. The airstrike on Saturday hit a market in Khulqut Nihm, about 20 miles north of the capital, Sana, that sold food, livestock and khat, a leaf that is chewed as a stimulant. Ali Nasir Jaaban, a resident who was about 100 yards away when the bombing occurred, said the market was filled with shoppers during the first strike. Three of his cousins were among the victims, he said. Video footage purporting to depict the aftermath of the attack that was aired on a Houthi news channel showed incinerated bodies, including children, as well as rubble and dead sheep. Mr. Jaaban and other residents reached by telephone said there was no apparent military target in or near the market. |