Some witnesses say dairy was hit by air strike and others blame rebel forces, while rights groups voice alarm about civilian casualties in conflict

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Dozens of civilians are reported to have died after a dairy plant was bombed in Yemen, as aid groups warned of a brewing humanitarian crisis from Saudi-led strikes on Shia rebels.



Riyadh Yassin, the Yemeni foreign minister, called for the coalition to send ground troops, saying that “at some stage air strikes will be ineffective”.

Rights groups have voiced growing alarm about civilian casualties as the bombing campaign aimed at preventing the fall of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi entered its seventh day.

At least 37 workers were killed and 80 wounded overnight at the dairy in the port city of Hodeida, the provincial governor, Hasan al-Hai, said, without specifying whether the factory had been hit by an air strike or rebel shelling.



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The head of the provincial health authorities, Abdulrahman Jarallah, gave a toll of 35 dead and dozens wounded.



Part of the factory was destroyed and rescue teams were looking for survivors under the rubble, according to a medic at a Hodeida hospital that received the casualties.

The circumstances of the bombing were unclear, with some witnesses saying the dairy was hit by a coalition air strike and others blaming rebel forces loyal to the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The Saudi-led coalition bombarded rebel positions early on Wednesday in Yemen’s main southern city, Aden, in a seventh night of raids. The capital, Sana’a, and other areas were also targeted.

The Aden strikes were focused on the rebel-held provincial administration complex in Dar Saad, in the north of the city, according to a military official. He said there were many dead and wounded among the Houthi Shia rebels, but was unable to give a precise toll.

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The coalition has vowed to keep targeting the Houthis and allied army units loyal to Saleh until they end their insurrection.



Egypt’s president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, urged the rebels to “back off” for the sake of their country, and said Cairo was participating in the military campaign for the sake of Gulf Arab security.

“The stability of Yemen and the safety of its people hangs from your necks,” Sisi said in a televised speech to military and police officers.

Iran is accused of backing the rebels, but Tehran denies providing military support.

The headquarters of a renegade army brigade loyal to Saleh was targeted overnight in the north of Aden, the military official said. Six civilians were killed in an air raid targeting Maydi, in the north-western province of Hajjah, according to medical sources.

Coalition planes targeted camps of army units loyal to Saleh around Sana’a and in the central region of Ibb overnight, according to residents. And several Houthi positions were targeted in the northern rebel strongholds of Hajjah and Saada.

After entering the capital in September, the Houthis and their allies gradually conquered areas in the centre, west and south before bearing down on Aden last month, prompting Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia. The president had taken refuge in Aden in February after escaping house arrest in the capital.

On Tuesday the UN human rights office said at least 93 civilians had been killed and 364 wounded since Friday. On Monday more than two dozen people were killed in an apparent coalition air strike on the al-Mazraq refugee camp.

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The UN high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, said Yemen “seems to be on the verge of total collapse”.

Yassin, the foreign minister, said sending ground troops would cause “less civilian casualties” but added that the main reason he was proposing a land operation was to enable aid deliveries.

“I am suggesting to start as soon as possible,” he said.

On Tuesday, the Saudi-led coalition’s spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Assiri said that so far there is no need for land intervention but the need might arise “at any time”.

A western diplomatic source said a land offensive would be “very, very complicated and difficult”, partly because it would have to pass mountainous terrain in the country’s north, with which the Houthi rebels are highly familiar.

The source ruled out a seaborne landing because the coalition lacks amphibious forces.

But Yassin said troops could come in from the south, around the port city of Aden, which would be relatively easy to secure and could become a safe haven for humanitarian operations.

Amnesty International accused the coalition of turning a blind eye to civilian deaths as it reported that four children were among six people killed in strikes on Ibb, in central Yemen.



According to the UN children’s fund, at least 62 children have been killed and 30 hurt in the past week. Unicef’s Julien Harneis said: “Children are in desperate need of protection, and all parties to the conflict should do all in their power to keep children safe”.

Assiri said the alliance sought to avoid killing civilians even though the Houthis had moved fighters into villages: “Collateral damage can happen … but I confirm to you that the coalition takes all care.”