Yemen civil war: MSF condemns 'complete disregard' for civilian life as Saudi authorities destroy vital hospital
More than 5,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the vicious civil war
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Your support makes all the difference.Médecins Sans Frontières has condemned a Saudi air strike that destroyed a hospital and deprived approximately 200,000 people of vital medical care in a northern province of war-torn Yemen.
The hospital, in the Haydan district in Saada Province, was hit by several air strikes from around 10.30pm over a two hour period on Monday night, the international medical charity said.
Although there were no fatalities from the attack, a staff member was injured as they helped doctors and patients escape the facility after the first round of bombing.
“This attack is another illustration of a complete disregard for civilians in Yemen, where bombings have become a daily routine,” Hassan Boucenine, MSF head of mission in Yemen, said in a statement.
5,600
People are believed to have died in the conflict
It is the second such attack on an international aid facility to occur this month, after MSF’s trauma hospital was obliterated in a US air strike in Kunduz province, Afghanistan.
The air strike in Yemen also reportedly totaled a nearby girls’ school and several civilian homes.
A spokesperson for MSF said the attack was a violation of international law, and demanded Saudi forces explain the attack – claiming they had been provided with detailed GPS coordinates in addition to the hospital being clearly identifiable from the air due to the logo painted on the roof.
Saudi authorities, who intervened in Yemen’s civil war in March, admitted a “mistake” was made but claimed the charity had failed to provide the correct coordinates.
"The coalition forces tried to avoid the location that was given to them by Medecins Sans Frontieres, and they were targeting a field that was used by the Houthis [the rebel force currently holding the city of Saada] for training and ammunition gathering," Saudi Ambassador to the UN Abdallah al-Mouallimi told Vice News.
But the ambassador claimed the charity gave the coalition forces the “wrong coordinates of their location," leading to the strike.
International aid organisations strongly condemned the bombing, with Amnesty International claiming the action may amount to a war crime and calling for an independent investigation.
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations intervened in Yemen’s civil war in March in an attempt to restore the minority Shia government – currently ruling in exile from Saudi Arabia – to power but despite a seven month bombardment, the campaign has not met with success.
Houthi rebels continue to hold out in Saada, which has enduring particularly heavy bombing, as civilian casualties soar – many caused by aerial bombing. An estimated 5,600 people have died in the conflict.
“Yemen is in an all-out war, in which the population caught on the wrong side is considered a legitimate target,” said Mr Boucenine.
The bombed hospital was the only medical facility still operating in the area, as most other aid groups and United Nations have been pulled out. MSF claimed as many as 3,400 people – mostly war wounded – had been treated there since May
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