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Forty refugees killed by Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen - Telegraph
Soldiers and Houthi fighters inspect the damage caused by air strikes on the airport of Saada
At least 40 refugees were killed by an air strike on Yemen on Monday as Saudi Arabia and allies including Egyptcontinued to bombard Shia rebel forces that have seized much of the country.
Photographs from the Al-Mazrak camp near the Saudi border showed children being carried away on stretchers as the International Organisation for Migration put the number of dead at 45 and the injury count as high as 200.
Five hundred families had arrived at the camp near the northern town of Harad in recent days, fleeing militia fighting on the ground and international airstrikes from above.
It previously housed refugees from both the insurgency against the government by Houthi Shia rebels in the north of the country, and migrants from abroad – notably Somalis and other East Africans trying to get to Saudi Arabia to find work.
Houthi supporters shout slogans during a rally against the airstrikes in Sana’a (EPA)
The number of Yemeni refugees has grown hugely since the Houthis swept south, seizing the capital, Sana'a, the third city, Taiz, and laid siege to the strategic port city of Aden.
A Saudi-led military coalition has been pounding rebel positions in Yemen since Wednesday night in an attempt to halt their march across the country.
The Houthis, who have ties to Iran, have been joined by troops loyal to Yemen's former leader, Ali Abdullah Saleh, even though he once fought them. This alliance subsequently forced the internationally recognised President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi into flight.
It was not immediately clear why the camp would have been targeted by an air strike. Aid workers said there had been no fighting nearby, but that the entrance, clinic, food area, and administrative centre had been destroyed.
The International Organisation of Migrants initially put the figure of dead at 45, while the Houthi-controlled health ministry said 40 had been killed. Another report said that a vehicle near the camp containing nine Houthi fighters had been the initial target.
However, the Saudi-led intervention has come under fire from human rights groups for not protecting civilians. Medecins Sans Frontieres said it had treated 34 injured people at its hospital in Harad, and that 29 others had been dead on arrival.
Smoke billows from military barracks in the Jabal al-Jumaima mountain near Sana'a following an airstrike (Reuters)
"People in Al Mazrak 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, its Yemen operational manager, said.
"We call on all parties to spare civilians from violence, respect the neutrality of medical facilities and staff, and allow unhindered access to medical assistance for the wounded."
Trond Jensen, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Yemen, said the organisation was "extremely concerned" for the safety of civilians caught between fighting and airstrikes.
On Sunday, Mr Hadi joined Sunni Arab leaders in a joint pledge to continue bombing until the Houthis surrendered.
Meanwhile, fierce fighting continued to rage around Aden, as Houthi forces tried to enter the city.
They came under shelling from warships stationed off the coast – believed to belong to Egypt, one of eight Sunni Arabs states to have joined Mr Hadi and his Saudi backers in fighting the Houthis.
Four Egyptian vessels began moving towards the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, and the Egyptian foreign minister has publicly offered to send ground troops if they are needed.
Humanitarian workers in Aden have been overwhelmed by the number of casualties streaming into hospitals. "We were not ready to face this kind of situation," Valerie Pierre, coordinator for aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres, told Reuters.
More than 250 patients have arrived at the organisation's 45-bed facility over the past 10 days.
In Sanaa, jets struck around the presidential palace early on Monday, as well as a weapons depot in the Nugum mountain overlooking the capital. A spokeswoman for the International Red Cross said the bombardment near their offices was making it difficult to ascertain full details of the deaths in Al-Mazrak camp.
Soldiers and Houthi fighters inspect the damage caused by air strikes on the airport of Saada
At least 40 refugees were killed by an air strike on Yemen on Monday as Saudi Arabia and allies including Egyptcontinued to bombard Shia rebel forces that have seized much of the country.
Photographs from the Al-Mazrak camp near the Saudi border showed children being carried away on stretchers as the International Organisation for Migration put the number of dead at 45 and the injury count as high as 200.
Five hundred families had arrived at the camp near the northern town of Harad in recent days, fleeing militia fighting on the ground and international airstrikes from above.
It previously housed refugees from both the insurgency against the government by Houthi Shia rebels in the north of the country, and migrants from abroad – notably Somalis and other East Africans trying to get to Saudi Arabia to find work.
Houthi supporters shout slogans during a rally against the airstrikes in Sana’a (EPA)
The number of Yemeni refugees has grown hugely since the Houthis swept south, seizing the capital, Sana'a, the third city, Taiz, and laid siege to the strategic port city of Aden.
A Saudi-led military coalition has been pounding rebel positions in Yemen since Wednesday night in an attempt to halt their march across the country.
The Houthis, who have ties to Iran, have been joined by troops loyal to Yemen's former leader, Ali Abdullah Saleh, even though he once fought them. This alliance subsequently forced the internationally recognised President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi into flight.
It was not immediately clear why the camp would have been targeted by an air strike. Aid workers said there had been no fighting nearby, but that the entrance, clinic, food area, and administrative centre had been destroyed.
The International Organisation of Migrants initially put the figure of dead at 45, while the Houthi-controlled health ministry said 40 had been killed. Another report said that a vehicle near the camp containing nine Houthi fighters had been the initial target.
However, the Saudi-led intervention has come under fire from human rights groups for not protecting civilians. Medecins Sans Frontieres said it had treated 34 injured people at its hospital in Harad, and that 29 others had been dead on arrival.
Smoke billows from military barracks in the Jabal al-Jumaima mountain near Sana'a following an airstrike (Reuters)
"People in Al Mazrak 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, its Yemen operational manager, said.
"We call on all parties to spare civilians from violence, respect the neutrality of medical facilities and staff, and allow unhindered access to medical assistance for the wounded."
Trond Jensen, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Yemen, said the organisation was "extremely concerned" for the safety of civilians caught between fighting and airstrikes.
On Sunday, Mr Hadi joined Sunni Arab leaders in a joint pledge to continue bombing until the Houthis surrendered.
Meanwhile, fierce fighting continued to rage around Aden, as Houthi forces tried to enter the city.
They came under shelling from warships stationed off the coast – believed to belong to Egypt, one of eight Sunni Arabs states to have joined Mr Hadi and his Saudi backers in fighting the Houthis.
Four Egyptian vessels began moving towards the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, and the Egyptian foreign minister has publicly offered to send ground troops if they are needed.
Humanitarian workers in Aden have been overwhelmed by the number of casualties streaming into hospitals. "We were not ready to face this kind of situation," Valerie Pierre, coordinator for aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres, told Reuters.
More than 250 patients have arrived at the organisation's 45-bed facility over the past 10 days.
In Sanaa, jets struck around the presidential palace early on Monday, as well as a weapons depot in the Nugum mountain overlooking the capital. A spokeswoman for the International Red Cross said the bombardment near their offices was making it difficult to ascertain full details of the deaths in Al-Mazrak camp.
