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| Dozens Are Reported Killed as Saudi-Led Strike Hits Camp for Displaced Yemeni Civilians | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| AL MUKALLA, Yemen — Dozens of civilians were killed when, according to aid workers and officials, what appeared to be an airstrike hit a camp for displaced families in northern Yemen on Monday. It was thought to be the deadliest single episode involving civilians since Saudi Arabia began a military campaign to drive back the Houthi movement five days earlier. | |
| The deaths, in the Al-Mazraq camp, came as the Saudi-led Arab military coalition intensified attacks across Yemen, bombing multiple targets including a missile depot in the capital, Sana, that erupted in a nighttime conflagration and sent civilians in a nearby village fleeing the explosions, according to witnesses. | The deaths, in the Al-Mazraq camp, came as the Saudi-led Arab military coalition intensified attacks across Yemen, bombing multiple targets including a missile depot in the capital, Sana, that erupted in a nighttime conflagration and sent civilians in a nearby village fleeing the explosions, according to witnesses. |
| Saudi officials have framed their military offensive as an effort to roll back the gains of the Houthis, whose fighters have seized control of much of Yemen over the last seven months, and to restore to power the exiled government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The Saudi offensive has been primarily driven by a fear of Iranian influence in the region: the Houthis, who practice a strain of Shiite Islam and are supported by Iran, have been accused by Saudi officials as acting as an Iranian proxy force. | Saudi officials have framed their military offensive as an effort to roll back the gains of the Houthis, whose fighters have seized control of much of Yemen over the last seven months, and to restore to power the exiled government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The Saudi offensive has been primarily driven by a fear of Iranian influence in the region: the Houthis, who practice a strain of Shiite Islam and are supported by Iran, have been accused by Saudi officials as acting as an Iranian proxy force. |
| Yet the military action, which has come with the threat of a ground invasion by Saudi and other Arab troops, has raised concerns that it will only further destabilize Yemen, the region’s most impoverished country as well as a haven for a powerful Al Qaeda affiliate. | Yet the military action, which has come with the threat of a ground invasion by Saudi and other Arab troops, has raised concerns that it will only further destabilize Yemen, the region’s most impoverished country as well as a haven for a powerful Al Qaeda affiliate. |
| Already, the chaos has caused the Obama administration to withdraw its last remaining counterterrorism advisers from Yemen. As the Saudi-led coalition has tightened its military grip on the country — restricting access by sea and air, while widening its airstrikes — there are growing fears of a humanitarian emergency, according to aid workers. | Already, the chaos has caused the Obama administration to withdraw its last remaining counterterrorism advisers from Yemen. As the Saudi-led coalition has tightened its military grip on the country — restricting access by sea and air, while widening its airstrikes — there are growing fears of a humanitarian emergency, according to aid workers. |
| In Riyadh, the Saudi capital, a spokesman for the military coalition told reporters that naval forces were blocking the movement of ships to thwart weapons and fighters from entering or leaving. Al Ahram, the main Egyptian state newspaper, said warships from Egypt, part of the Saudi coalition, were shelling Houthi fighters to stop their advance into Aden, the southern port that is one of the last refuges of fighters loyal to Mr. Hadi. | In Riyadh, the Saudi capital, a spokesman for the military coalition told reporters that naval forces were blocking the movement of ships to thwart weapons and fighters from entering or leaving. Al Ahram, the main Egyptian state newspaper, said warships from Egypt, part of the Saudi coalition, were shelling Houthi fighters to stop their advance into Aden, the southern port that is one of the last refuges of fighters loyal to Mr. Hadi. |
| By nighttime, huge explosions were seen rocking Sana, in what witnesses described as Saudi airstrikes on caches of missiles in a military base on a mountain — presumably to prevent the Houthis from using them. Images of fireballs from the bombings were posted on Twitter and other social media forums. It was not immediately clear whether the blasts caused any casualties. | |
| Earlier in the day, Saudi jets seeking out gatherings of Houthi fighters apparently missed their targets and hit the Al-Mazraq displaced-persons camp, said a senior security official in the area, Saleh Al Mougbili. International relief agencies at the camp also described the attack as an airstrike. | |
| There was no comment from Saudi Arabia on the Al-Mazraq bombing, which caused at least 31 deaths, by Mr. Mougbili’s account. The International Organization for Migration, which had field workers at the camp, said at least 40 people were killed, mostly civilians. Dozens were wounded, according to the organization and Doctors Without Borders, which treated victims. | There was no comment from Saudi Arabia on the Al-Mazraq bombing, which caused at least 31 deaths, by Mr. Mougbili’s account. The International Organization for Migration, which had field workers at the camp, said at least 40 people were killed, mostly civilians. Dozens were wounded, according to the organization and Doctors Without Borders, which treated victims. |
| “People in Al-Mazraq camp have been living in very harsh conditions since 2009, and now they have suffered the consequences of an airstrike on the camp,” Pablo Marco, the Doctors Without Borders operational manager for Yemen, said in a statement. | “People in Al-Mazraq camp have been living in very harsh conditions since 2009, and now they have suffered the consequences of an airstrike on the camp,” Pablo Marco, the Doctors Without Borders operational manager for Yemen, said in a statement. |
| Al-Mazraq, in Hajja Province, was established in 2001 by the United Nations and has housed hundreds of families whose lives have been upended by the country’s chronic conflicts. The camp houses about 5,000 people, said Joel A. Millman, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, a Geneva-based humanitarian group. | |
| “We are trying to learn more about the victims, whether all are Yemeni, whether any are aid workers, and so on,” Mr. Millman said in an emailed statement. | “We are trying to learn more about the victims, whether all are Yemeni, whether any are aid workers, and so on,” Mr. Millman said in an emailed statement. |
| The Saudi-backed Yemeni government, which has largely been driven from power, its top officials in exile, denied that any coalition airstrike had been carried out on the camp. | The Saudi-backed Yemeni government, which has largely been driven from power, its top officials in exile, denied that any coalition airstrike had been carried out on the camp. |
| The Yemeni foreign minister, Riyadh Yaseen, was quoted by Reuters as saying in Saudi Arabia that explosions at the camp had been caused by artillery strikes from Houthi fighters. | |
| At least two other strikes from Saudi jets on Monday may also have missed their intended targets, hitting a gathering of anti-Houthi tribesmen in the southern province of Shabwa, killing three, local tribal leaders said. | |