Saudi-led airstrikes on Friday rocked Yemen amid a seven-year-old war and resulted in the death of at least 70 people and injury of more than 100 others while knocking out the region's internet.
International aid groups and the rebels who controlled the area were the ones that reported on the horrific attack led by a military coalition. The recent incident capped a week where rebel drones struck areas as far as Abu Dhabi. Saudi bombs also rained down across rebel-held northern Yemen.
Saudi-Led Airstrikes
The hostilities were fresh proof of the long-running conflict even after a year of U.S. President Joe Biden taking office. The Democratic leader sought to bring the long-running war, which is considered one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters, to an end.
The Houthis, Iran-backed rebels who have control of northern Yemen, have gained territory over recent months. The opposition forces backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have managed to regain some areas and shift the momentum of the war, the New York Times reported.
A separate airstrike on Friday hit a telecommunications building that was located in the strategic port city of Hodeidah. The incident caused a nationwide internet blackout, according to NetBlocks, an organization that was tracking network disruptions. Save the Children, a leading global children's organization, said that at least three children were killed in the attack.
The Norwegian Refugee Council said that the massive internet blackout, which was still a problem as of Friday evening, would also negatively impact aid delivery. The Iran-back Houthi rebels have accused the Saudi-led coalition of the horrific attacks.
In 2015, the military coalition launched an offensive to restore Yemen's internationally recognized government after it was ousted by the Houthis. After the missile and drone attack in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi earlier this week, the coalition has intensified its attacks against the rebels, CNN reported.
Long-Running War
An International Committee of the Red Cross spokesperson in Yemen, Basheer Omar, released the number of casualties. He also said that rescuers continued to go through the prison that was hit by the strikes that were located in the northern city of Saada.
Omar noted that the number of fatalities was more likely to increase as the Red Cross had already moved some of the wounded individuals to facilities located elsewhere. Officials did not immediately provide breakdowns of how many people were killed and how many were injured.
In a separate statement, Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian medical non-governmental organization, estimated the number of wounded alone at around 200 people. The head of the organization's mission in Yemen, Ahmed Mahat, said that his colleagues from Saada said there were still many bodies at the scene of the airstrike and many people left missing.
Mahat said that it was impossible to know how many people may have been killed by the horrific attack that he called an "act of violence." The Yemen country director for Save the Children, Gillian Moyes, said that the initial casualties from Saada were "horrifying." He added that migrants seeking better lives for themselves and their families were among the victims of the incident, NPR reported.
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