Sana’a Bids Sawan Victims Farewell: Bodies Are Buried but the Crime Will Never Be

Al-Ahed Correspondent

Sana’a - Thousands of people, friends and relatives of the martyred school children have gathered in Yemen's capital Sana'a Wednesday for the funeral of a dozen of children martyred in a Saudi-led coalition attack on a place near two schools, including a private school last Sunday.

The mass burial took place this morning in Sawan, near the schools targeted north eastern Sana'a city.

Crowds chanted in protest at Saudi Arabia, United States and ‘Israel’ who keep justifying the Saudi heinous crimes.

The Saudi-led military coalition media like al-Hadath Arabic channel, justified the crime after an hour on Sunday of the strike saying the coalition's warplanes targeted a military camp in Sawan, but later said through its puppet government based in Aden, especially through its information minister, that the explosion is just due to a blast at an ammunition warehouse.

UNICEF and NRC published statements in regard to this massacre but without mentioning what are the reasons that led to the killing of these children, only saying an explosion.

"Blast in Sana’a, Yemen kills another 14 children in school and injures 16, most under the age of nine," UNICEF statement read.

"More than 400 children killed and seriously injured since the beginning of 2019," the UNICEF statement added.

Sana’a ministry of health dismissed the airstrike, bearing the full responsibility on the UN and its groups in Yemen whom their silence encouraged the Saudi coalition.

The Sunday air strike coincided with the arrival of the UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, to the Yemeni capital Sana'a where he met the Supreme Leader of the Ansarullah revolutionary movement Sayyed Abdul Malek al-Houthi.

The funeral procession was attended by a number of ministers of the Sana'a Salvation Government, including Minister of Information, Mr. Dhaifullah al-Shami.

Al-Shami, after funeral payers, stressed in his speech that the strength of the pupils and teachers terrified the enemy, leading them to commit such awful crimes.

"This blood shed is a new fuel to fight Saudis," al-Shami said, condemning the silence of the international community in front of these crimes.

Al-Shami condemned the United Nations and international organizations' silence on this crime saying: "you are worse than the killer of the children, because you cover up the killer, and worse than UN groups silence are the mercenaries who sold their honor and homeland and traded the blood of their compatriots."

The children's bodies were wrapped in Yemeni flag and carried in cars toward a graveyard in al-Nassr St. of the same area of Sawan.

"Burying the crime"

As victims of this crime are buried, some believe the crime was buried with the victims, as there is no party claimed responsibility leading it to be against unknown perpetrators.

Saleh al-Qudami, director of Private Education in the Ministry of Education attended the funeral and spoke exclusively later to al-Ahed. He denied the crime was buried with the victims.

Al-Qudami stressed that it is impossible to bury Saudi crimes forever particularly this crime, pointing out that burying the victims with no justice is only that their blood will provide a boost for Yemeni army and popular fighters to take revenge in battlefield.

"After funeral, the Yemeni army will hit the Saudis back twice as hard, but in battlefields not targeting their schools as the cowardly Saudis do," al-Qudami told al-Ahed.

The United Nations has just called for investigation to the crime, but for al-Qudami, calling for investigations is just but a tactic used by Saudis to cover any crime committed. He further said UN calls on Saudis to investigate their own crimes, the Saudis plan to commit another crime.

"Such crimes will not go unpunished and are therefore imprescriptible," al-Qudami concluded.