Saudi Aggression on Yemen: 20+ Martyred in New Massacre at Al-Hudaydah [Graphic Content]

Local Editor

In a new horrible massacre against Yemen, more than 20 people have been martyred in a Saudi-led coalition airstrike on a marketplace in the town of al-Hudaydah in Yemen. Graphic footage appears to show debris and bodies burning in the aftermath of the bombing.

According to AFP, 26 people were martyred in the airstrike.

Al-Masirah TV channel reported that 27 people were martyred and dozens wounded in the attack.

The Red Sea port of al-Hudaydah is Yemen's fourth-largest city, with a population of around 400,000, located in the west of the country.

Riyadh and its allies have been accused of war crimes by humanitarian groups after their airstrikes hit residential areas and public gatherings on numerous occasions.

Human Rights Watch [HRW] reported in October that the Saudi coalition, "with direct military support from the US and assistance from the UK," conducted at least 58 "unlawful airstrikes."

In late February, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, said that around 10,000 people have been martyred in the country since Saudi Arabia intervened, with 7 million people close to starvation.

According to World Health Organization figures, more than 7,400 people have been martyred, with around 1,400 of them being children.

The UN Security Council on Friday convened for a report by UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'Brien on the humanitarian situation in a number of countries, including Yemen.

O'Brien said that, with regard to Yemen, "only a political solution will ultimately end human suffering and bring stability to the region."

Vladimir Safronkov, Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, said that "the settlement of the conflict in Yemen lies exclusively in political realm and can be achieved only through negotiations in accordance with a balanced and mutually acceptable settlement plan."

Ahmed Benchemsi, communications and advocacy director at Human Rights Watch [HRW], Middle East & North Africa, said that the humanitarian situation in Yemen is "increasingly unsustainable" and the urgent action must be taken by both sides in the conflict to stop the country plunging further into a "deep humanitarian catastrophe" as the situation "cannot continue like this for very long."

"We ourselves, at Human Rights Watch, were able to document 61 apparent unlawful airstrikes, all conducted by the coalition, some of which may amount indeed to war crimes and that have killed nearly 900 civilians and have hit civilian areas, including markets, schools, hospitals and private homes," he said.

He called on western powers, who are continuing to supply Saudi Arabia with weapons despite the damning evidence of its human rights violations in Yemen, to immediately halt deliveries.

"We clearly recommend that the United States, the United Kingdom, France and others should suspend all weapons sales to Saudi Arabia until they curtail their unlawful airstrikes in Yemen and until also a credible investigation is conducted about those violations," the HRW representative said, adding that previous investigations conducted by the coalition do not appear to HRW to be "fair or credible."

Benchemsi also slammed the blockade "organized by the Saudi-led coalition".

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team