Alalam - Asia
In a Thursday statement, the Ansarullah Political Council slammed as a “horrific crime” the Saudi air raid, which hit the funeral procession in the district of Arhab north of Sana’a earlier in the day.
“The raid once again revealed the enemy’s savagery and proved it is not committed to any religious principles or human values,” the statement read.
The Yemeni nation, the statement added, would give a firm response to Saudi crimes on the battlefield, stressing the need for strong resistance in the face of Riyadh’s aggression.
Thursday’s assault also wounded around 10 people. The fatalities are likely to rise as some of the injured are in critical condition.
Following the raid, it took hours for the local people to recover the bodies and the injured who were buried under the rubble.
Hisham Sharaf, the foreign minister of Yemen’s National Salvation Government, sent two letters to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as well as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein about the airstrike.
The official said the fatal Saudi raid “amounted to war crime,” calling for the formation of an international fact-finding committee to investigate Riyadh’s crimes.
Killing civilians ‘unjustifiable’
UN officials also joined the Yemenis in denouncing the raid, with the world body’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) expressing shock over the incident in a statement.
“The manner in which the parties to the conflict are waging this war is taking an unacceptable toll on the civilian population in Yemen and as illustrated by this most recent tragedy, women and children are paying with their lives,” said UN Humanitarian Coordinator Jamie McGoldrick in the statement.