Page 10 - Aruba Today

A10 WORLD NEWS
Friday 26 OctOber 2018
UN: Death toll from Saudi airstrike in Yemen at 21

By AHMED EL-HAJ vilian casualties in the war
SAMY MAGDY has prompted right groups
Associated Press to call for the suspension of
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A the multibillion-dollar U.S.
Saudi-led coalition airstrike and European arms sales to
at a fruit-and-vegetable Saudi Arabia, for decades
market near Yemen's flash- among the world's largest
point Red Sea port of Ho- buyers of weapons.
deida killed at least 21 ci- Save the Children said
vilians, including children, Thursday the cost of basic
the U.N. humanitarian aid food items such as flour,
agency said Thursday. rice, salt, sugar and cook-
Wednesday's attack came ing oil has nearly doubled
amid mounting fears of a since the conflict erupted
fresh coalition assault on in March 2015. The aver-
Hodeida — a city that has age income in Yemen has
been the lifeline for inter- more than halved, mean-
national aid deliveries to while, falling to just $3.39 a
Yemen, ravaged by a bru- day. The organization also
tal 3 ½-year war between said that 52 percent of the
the Saudi-led alliance population lives under the
and Shite rebels known as international poverty line —
Houthis. up from 30 percent in 2014.
The coalition has been try- In this Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018, file photo, a cargo ship is docked at the port, in Hodeida, Yemen. "The economic collapse is
ing to wrest Hodeida from Associated Press Yemen's silent killer; many
the Iran-backed rebels but Yemenis are struggling just
the campaign, like the rest climbed overnight. people died and 10 were of Humanitarian Affairs said to survive," said Tamer Ki-
of Yemen's war, had fallen The director of the Bayt el- wounded. The different in a statement Thursday. rolos, the group's Yemen
into a stalemate. Faqih hospital, Abdullah death tolls could not imme- "Civilians are paying a director.
The airstrike, which hit a Shahawi, said all the vic- diately be resolved. shocking price because of Saudi Arabia and its pow-
vegetable packaging fa- tims were civilians and that Also on Wednesday, three this conflict," said U.N. Hu- erful young Crown Prince
cility in the outdoor market at least two children were more people were killed manitarian Coordinator for Mohammed bin Salman,
in the town of Bayt el-Faqih, among the dead. and six injured when strikes Yemen Lise Grande. "This who has been leading
just south of Hodeida, also In the capital, Saana, the hit three vehicles on July 7 is the third time this month the coalition campaign in
wounded 10 people. Ini- rebel-run Al Masirah TV re- road in Al Hali District in Ho- that fighting has caused Yemen, have been fac-
tial reports had five dead ported a lower casualty deida province, the U.N.'s mass casualties in Hodei- ing international outrage
but the death toll steadily figure, saying at least 20 Office for the Coordination da." over the killing of journal-
Video footage obtained ist Jamal Khashoggi ear-
by The Associated Press lier this month inside the
showed the aftermath of Saudi Consulate in Turkey.
the strike, with body parts Kashoggi's slaying has also
lying scattered across the sparked widespread con-
market and coffins lined up demnation of the crown
in the hospital. The video prince and marred his in-
could not be independent- ternational standing after
ly confirmed but it corre- Turkish reports alleged that
sponded to events report- a member of his entourage
ed by the AP. A spokesman was involved in the killing.
for the Saudi-led coalition The Saudi-led coalition re-
did not respond to multiple cently sent reinforcements
phone calls and messages to Yemen's west coast for
seeking comment. what many fear would be
Journalists have been an intensified battle for Ho-
barred from visiting rebel- deida. The city's port literal-
held areas in Hodeida, ly keeps millions of starving
including where Wednes- Yemenis alive, as it serves
day's airstrike took place. as entry point for 70 per-
Yemeni security officials cent of food imports and
confirmed the strike but international aid. A pro-
didn't know what the in- tracted siege of Hodeida
tended target was. by the coalition could cut
It's not uncommon for coali- off that lifeline. Yemeni of-
tion jets to hit civilians and ficials said Wednesday that
wedding parties, funerals, reinforcements had arrived
residential homes and hos- in tanks and armored vehi-
pitals have been bombed cles provided by the United
in the past. In August, an Arab Emirates, a key coali-
airstrike hit a bus carrying tion member. All officials
children on their way to spoke on condition of ano-
school in northern Yemen, nymity because they were
killing more than 40. not authorized to talk to
The growing number of ci- reporters.q