Yemeni officials condemn 'war crimes' as Saudi airstrikes martyr civilians

Yemeni officials have condemned Saudi airstrikes on hospitals and medical centers in the capital Sana’a as “war crimes”, calling on international organizations to intervene and stop them. 

Spokesman for the Supreme Council for the Administration and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Talat al-Sharjabi said on Friday that the Saudi aerial attacks, which deliberately target medical facilities, constitute war crimes and are meant to increase the suffering of the Yemeni nation.”

“As the Saudi-led coalition intensifies its attacks on Sana’a, we have complained to international institutions about the decrease in delivery of humanitarian aid to poor people and Yemeni hospitals,” he noted.

Director General of the Public Health and Population Office in Sana’a Dr. Mutahar al-Marwani also deplored the Saudi airstrikes on hospitals as a deliberate attempt to put pressure on the Yemeni health sector, which is currently suffering from the devastating Saudi war and brutal siege.

He said all medical diagnostic imaging centers are closed down in Sana’a, and thousands of patients have been adversely affected as a result.

Early on Friday, Saudi warplanes targeted an area close to al-Alia Medical Center in the Yemeni capital, severely damaging nearby buildings.

A medical source, who preferred not to be named, told Yemen’s Arabic-language al-Masirah television network that the strikes had caused panic and fear among patients and medical staff.

The source added that the Saudi strikes put the medical center out of service.

MG