UN: US strikes in Yemen pose growing risk to civilians
The United Nations says it’s deeply alarmed by US airstrikes on Yemen, including the targeting of a detention center housing African migrants in Sa’ada governorate.
Nearly 70 inmates were killed and more than 50 more wounded in a US airstrike that targeted one of the detention centers designated for African migrants in Sa’ada province on Monday.
The UN chief’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said the airstrikes “pose a growing risk to the civilian population” in the Arab country, including women and children.
“We’re saddened by the tragic loss of life, where many of these migrants are believed to have been killed and injured,” Dujarric told reporters.
“We continue to call [on] parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians,” he added.
Dujarric stressed that Yemen’s hospitals are being overwhelmed due to the high number of injured, many of whom are critically wounded.
The deadly US airstrike has drawn widespread condemnation.
Iran strongly condemned the airstrike, calling the continued US attacks on Yemeni civilians and infrastructure a war crime.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei lashed out at the United Nations and human rights bodies for remaining silent and indifferent to the US attacks in clear breach of law and repeated violation of Yemen’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Yemen’s Ansarullah movement also denounced the strike as a “brutal crime,” accusing Washington of deliberately targeting civilians under the guise of military operations.
In reaction to the atrocities committed by Israel in Gaza and the aggression of the US and UK against Yemen, the Yemeni Armed Forces have initiated a series of strikes aimed at Israeli, American, and British interests in the Red Sea and adjacent regions.
Yemeni naval and air force units conducted a joint operation against the Nimitz-class vessel of the United States Navy and other American warships, using several homegrown cruise and ballistic missiles as well as combat drones.
Spokesman for the Yemeni military, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, stated that the attacks came in reprisal for deadly US airstrikes.
He added that the Yemeni Armed Forces will continue to pursue and target the US Navy vessel and all hostile warships in the Red and Arabian Seas unless the ongoing aggression against Yemen ceases.
As the genocidal war on Gaza escalated, the Yemenis enacted a strategic blockade on essential maritime routes, intending to obstruct the delivery of military supplies to Israel and urge the international community to take action regarding the ongoing humanitarian emergency in Gaza.
The Yemeni Armed Forces have declared they will continue their assaults until Israel ceases its ground and aerial offensives in Gaza.
