http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/saudi-led-air-strikes-hit-yemeni-capital-36-dead/86016.html
Posted at: May 27 2015 8:23PM
Saudi-led air strikes hit Yemeni capital, 36 dead
People gather at a site hit by a Saudi-led air strike in Yemen's
capital Sanaa on May 27, 2015. Reuters
Sana'a, May 27
Saudi-led coalition warplanes bombed a rebel troop headquarters in the
Yemeni capital today, killing 36 soldiers, witnesses and a health
official said.
The coalition launched air strikes on March 26 against Iran-backed
Shiite Huthi rebels and allied forces loyal to former leader Ali
Abdullah Saleh in a bid to restore UN-backed President Abedrabbo
Mansour Hadi to power.
The jets today targeted the command headquarters of special forces
loyal to Saleh in southern Sanaa, as well as an arms depot in Fajj
Attan, a neighbourhood overlooking the capital, residents said.
An official from the rebel-held health ministry told AFP that “36
soldiers and officers were killed and 100 others were wounded” in the
raids, raising an earlier toll of 15 dead.
Other raids today severely damaged a rebel-controlled naval base in
the province of Hodeida on the Red Sea coast, residents said.
Strikes also hit the northern rebel stronghold province of Hajja, near
the border with Saudi Arabia, witnesses said, reporting casualties.
In the southern province of Daleh, the coalition carried out an early
morning raid against a rebel-held military camp, located north of the
provincial capital.
Anti-rebel militia have been trying to retake the camp, and clashes
have left more than 60 fighters dead from both sides during the past
48 hours, a local government official said.
The pro-Hadi fighters said yesterday they had regained control of the
provincial capital itself, also named Daleh.
The coalition hit other rebel positions in the central city of Dhammar
as well as oil-rich Marib, in the east, residents said.
The United Nations, trying to re-schedule peace talks for Yemen, says
almost 2,000 people have been killed and more than half a million
displaced in the conflict since March.
World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan said today that the toll
includes “hundreds of women and children,” adding that “almost 7.5
million people are in urgent need of medical help”.
“Hospitals around the country are closing down their emergency
operations rooms and intensive care units due to shortages in staff
and fuel for generators,” said Chan. “The health and lives of millions
of people are at risk.” — AFP
Received on Wed May 27 2015 - 11:39:11 EDT