Sanaa funeral airstrike

Last updated

Sanaa funeral airstrike
Part of the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen and Yemeni Civil War
Yemen adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Sanaa
Sanaa (Yemen)
Location Sanaa, Yemen
Coordinates 15°17′22″N44°12′03″E / 15.28944°N 44.20083°E / 15.28944; 44.20083
Date8 October 2016 (2016-10-08)
TargetFuneral in Sanaa
Attack type
Airstrike
Deaths143–155 civilians [1]
Injured525+
PerpetratorsFlag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia
External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Video of the second strike, provided by The Daily Telegraph .

The Sanaa funeral airstrike took place on the afternoon of 8 October 2016 when 155 people were killed and at least 525 more wounded when two airstrikes, about three to eight minutes apart, hit the packed Al Kubra hall in Sanaa, Yemen during a funeral. The attack was the deadliest single bombing in the then-two year long Yemeni civil war. [2] The funeral was being held for the father of former interior minister Jalal al-Rowaishan. Sanaa mayor Abdel Qader Hilal was reportedly among those killed. [3] [4] The Saudi-led coalition initially denied responsibility but then took responsibility and put the blame on information given by the Yemeni government. [5] [6]

Contents

The United Nations alleged that the Saudi-led coalition had violated international humanitarian law [7] because the bombing was a 'double tap' attack, or a type of airstrike where the first bombing is followed by a second one soon after, with the aim of targeting the wounded, aid workers, and medical personnel tending to them. The UN report said: "The second air strike, which occurred three to eight minutes after the first air strike, almost certainly resulted in more casualties to the already wounded and the first responders." Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said that his government was being careful to abide by humanitarian law; however, it stated that its strike on the funeral hall was based on "incorrect information" given to them by the Yemeni government and that it had been carried out without authorization. [7] [8]

Human Rights Watch identified the munitions used in the airstrike as 500-pound laser-guided bombs manufactured by the United States, and called on the U.S. to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia. [9]

Reactions

Domestic

Thousands of Yemenis marched in the capital city on 9 October to protest the air raid and show solidarity to the victims. [10]

International

Non-governmental organisations

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanaa International Airport</span> Airport in Yemen

Sanaa International Airport is the primary international airport of Yemen located in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. It services Sanaa City as well as the entire population of the northern provinces of Yemen. Initially, a small passenger terminal was built in the 1970s. The runway is shared with the large Al-Dailami Air Base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drone strikes in Yemen</span> United States drone strikes in Yemen

United States drone strikes in Yemen started after the September 11 attacks in the United States, when the US military attacked the Islamist militant presence in Yemen, in particular Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula using drone warfare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yemeni civil war (2014–present)</span> Ongoing civil war in the state of Yemen

The Yemeni civil war is an ongoing multilateral civil war that began in late 2014 mainly between the Rashad al-Alimi-led Presidential Leadership Council and the Mahdi al-Mashat-led Supreme Political Council, along with their supporters and allies. Both claim to constitute the official government of Yemen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war</span> Saudi war against Houthis in Yemen launched in 2015

On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, launched a military intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had been ousted from the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 by Houthi insurgents during the Yemeni Civil War. Efforts by the United Nations to facilitate a power sharing arrangement under a new transitional government collapsed, leading to escalating conflict between government forces, Houthi rebels, and other armed groups, which culminated in Hadi fleeing to Saudi Arabia shortly before it began military operations in the country.

International reactions to the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen of 2015 were mixed. Most other Arab League nations and several Western governments backed the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition, but other governments warned against an escalation in the violent situation in Yemen.

On 24 July 2015, between 9:30 and 10:00 p.m., the city of Mokha, Yemen, was bombed by the Saudi Arabian led coalition. The airstrikes struck two worker housing complexes for engineers and technicians at the Mokha steam power plant. The attack left between 65 and 120 dead, including at least 10 children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict</span> Armed conflict between the Houthi movement in Yemen and Saudi Arabia

The Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict is an ongoing armed conflict between the Royal Saudi Armed Forces and Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi forces that has been taking place in the Arabian Peninsula, including the southern Saudi regions of Asir, Jizan, and Najran, and northern Yemeni governorates of Saada, Al Jawf, and Hajjah, since the onset of the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen in 2015.

A Saudi Arabian-led military intervention in Yemen began in 2015, in an attempt to influence the outcome of the Yemeni Civil War. Saudi Arabia, spearheading a coalition of nine Arab states, began carrying out airstrikes in neighbouring Yemen and imposing an aerial and naval blockade on 26 March 2015, heralding a military intervention code-named Operation Decisive Storm. More than 130 health facilities(2019) in Yemen have been destroyed by a series of airstrikes conducted by the Saudi Arabian-led coalition since March 2015. Many of these have been public health hospitals staffed or supported by Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Critics of the assaults say the airstrikes are war crimes in violation of the protections of health care facilities afforded by the internationally recognized rules of war and have called for independent investigations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Almigdad Mojalli</span>

Almigdad Mojalli was a Yemeni freelance journalist working for the United States media service Voice of America. On 17 January 2016 Mojalli was killed by a Saudi airstrike in a village near Sana'a while attempting to report on the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War crimes in the Yemeni civil war (2014–present)</span> Aspect of the war

War crimes and human rights violations, committed by all warring parties, have been widespread throughout the Yemeni civil war. This includes the two main groups involved in the ongoing conflict: forces loyal to the current Yemeni president, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, and Houthis and other forces supporting Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former Yemeni president. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have also carried out attacks in Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition, backed by the United States and other nations, has also been accused of violating human rights and breaking international law, especially in regards to airstrikes that repeatedly hit civilian targets.

Since 2016, a food insecurity crisis has been ongoing in Yemen which began during the Yemeni civil war. The UN estimates that the war has caused an estimated 130,000 deaths from indirect causes which include lack of food, health services, and infrastructure as of December 2020. In 2018, Save the Children estimated that 85,000 children have died due to starvation in the three years prior. In May 2020, UNICEF described Yemen as "the largest humanitarian crisis in the world", and estimated that 80% of the population, over 24 million people, were in need of humanitarian assistance. In September 2022, the World Food Programme estimated that 17.4 million Yemenis struggled with food insecurity, and projected that number would increase to 19 million by the end of the year, describing this level of hunger as "unprecedented." The crisis is being compounded by an outbreak of cholera, which resulted in over 3000 deaths between 2015 and mid 2017. While the country is in crisis and multiple regions have been classified as being in IPC Phase 4, an actual classification of famine conditions was averted in 2018 and again in early 2019 due to international relief efforts. In January 2021, two out of 33 regions were classified as IPC 4 while 26 were classified as IPC 3.

The following is a timeline of the Yemeni civil war, which began in September 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hajjah Governorate airstrike</span>

On 22 April 2018, an airstrike by the Saudi Arabian-led coalition hit a wedding in the Bani Qa'is District of Hajjah Governorate, Yemen. Casualty estimates vary, with the Houthi-owned Al-Masirah reporting the toll later that day to be at least 33 civilians including the bride. Forty-five other people were injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Al Hudaydah</span> Battle of the Yemeni Civil War

The siege of Al Hudaydah, codenamed Operation Golden Victory, was a major Saudi-led coalition assault on the port city of Al Hudaydah in Yemen. It was spearheaded by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and has been considered as the largest battle since the start of Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen in 2015.

On 9 August 2018, Saudi Arabian expeditionary aircraft bombed a civilian school bus passing through a crowded market in Dahyan, Saada Governorate, Yemen, near the border with Saudi Arabia. At least 40 children were killed, all under 15 years old and most under age 10. Sources disagree on the exact number of deaths, but they estimate that the air strike killed about 51 people.

During the Yemeni civil war, Saudi Arabia led an Arab coalition of nine nations from the Middle East and parts of Africa in response to calls from the internationally recognized pro-Saudi president of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi for military support after he was ousted by the Houthi movement due to economic and political grievances, and fled to Saudi Arabia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 in Yemen</span> List of events

Events of 2020 in Yemen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turki Al-Maliki</span> Saudi Arabian colonel (born 1974)

Turki bin Saleh Al-Maliki is a Saudi Arabian military officer and member of the Department of Plans and Operations at the command of the Royal Saudi Air Force. He is the spokesperson for the Saudi-led Coalition in Yemen since 2017, succeeding Major General Ahmad Asiri, who was the head of the mission since the start of the military intervention led by the Saudi Armed Forces, Operation Decisive Storm, and then Operation Restoring Hope in Yemen.

On 21 January 2022, according to news sources a Saudi-led coalition carried out an airstrike on a prison in Saada, Yemen, killing at least 87 people. The coalition denied targeting the center.

The following is a timeline of the Yemeni humanitarian crisis, ongoing since the mid-2010s.

References

  1. Sanchez, Ray (8 October 2016). "US: No blank check for Saudi Arabia in Yemen". CNN. Archived from the original on 27 December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  2. 1 2 Miriello, Nick (9 October 2016). "48-hour escalation". Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  3. "Saudis probe 'heinous' airstrike that kills 140 mourners in Yemen". Sky News. 9 October 2016. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  4. "Top military brass among those killed in Yemen funeral strike". Middle East Eye . 12 October 2016. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  5. "Yemen funeral hall attack 'kills 82'". BBC News. 8 October 2016. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  6. Ghobari, Mohammed (8 October 2016). "Attack on mourners in Yemen kills 82: acting health minister". Reuters. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  7. 1 2 Nichols, Michelle (20 October 2016). Brown, Tom (ed.). "Saudi coalition violated law with Yemen funeral strike: U.N. monitors". Reuters. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  8. "Saudi coalition attacked Yemen funeral based on wrong information: inv". Reuters. 15 October 2016. Archived from the original on 7 February 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  9. Thorbecke, Catherine (13 October 2016). "US-Made Bomb Used in Airstrike on Funeral in Yemen, HRW Says". ABC News. Archived from the original on 17 August 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  10. "Yemenis protest after funeral hall attack". BBC News. 9 October 2016. Archived from the original on 6 November 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  11. Antonopoulos, Paul (9 October 2016). "18+ Photos: Over 125 killed, 525 injured by Saudi massacre in Yemen". Archived from the original on 22 November 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  12. "UN News - UN strongly condemns attack in Yemen that killed over a hundred people". 9 October 2016. Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  13. Al Omran, Ahmed; Fitch, Asa (10 October 2016). "Saudi Arabia to Investigate Yemen Funeral Bombing". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 27 December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  14. "Yemen funeral hall attack 'kills scores'". 9 October 2016. Archived from the original on 1 June 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  15. 1 2 Sanchez, Raf; Hope, Christopher (10 October 2016). "Britain stands behind Saudi air campaign in Yemen even as strike on funeral prompts US to review its support". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235. Archived from the original on 22 February 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  16. 1 2 Norton, Ben (14 October 2016). ""Massacre of civilians": Saudi bombing of Yemeni funeral with U.S. weapons was a war crime, rights groups say". Salon. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.