Yemeni airstrike hits camp for displaced
YEMEN - 16 SEPTEMBER 2009
SAN'A, Yemen Yemeni warplanes on Wednesday hit a makeshift camp for civilians fleeing fighting between the government and Shiite rebels, killing dozens of people, witnesses said.
An ambulance driver counted 120 people ferried to the local hospital, among them dozens of dead. Three other witnesses reported a similar number of casualties in the area near the rebel-controlled town of Horf Sufyan, north of the capital.
The driver spoke on condition of anonymity because out of fear of government retribution.
Government officials denied the strikes had taken place, but a civil servant in the local government confirmed the attack.
There was no way to independently verify the reports and throughout the five year conflict details of the fighting in the remote mountainous areas have been sketchy.
This is the second reported airstrike against civilians in three days in the conflict-ridden area of northern Yemen. A new round of fighting broke out in Saada and Amran provinces last month.
The Shiite rebels complain their needs are ignored by a government that is increasingly allied with hard-line Sunni fundamentalists, who consider Shiites as heretics.
The Red Cross has registered some 30,000 civilians displaced in the latest round of fighting. Most have taken refuge in major cities, but some are stranded in more remote areas.
Local aid workers and tribal residents in the area said the airstrike came around noon and they reported seeing body parts flying in the air and pools of blood in the barren mountainous region where hundreds of the displaced had taken refuge.
Mohammed, a local aid worker working with the displaced, said he saw missiles hit the area, prompting people to run for cover under a nearby overpass that was then also struck.
"The area turned into a pool of blood. I saw body parts and charred bodies," said Ali, another local aid worker.
A third witness, local resident Yehia, said the ambulances arrived to the area hours after the strike.
The three witnesses agreed to speak to The Associated Press only if their family names were withheld, fearing government retribution.
A statement from the rebel group confirmed that an airstrike targeted a group of displaced, leaving dozens dead.
The attack followed a statement on Monday by the rebels that Yemeni jets dropped two bombs on a crowded local market in the northern town of Saada, killing dozens of civilians.
The fighting has continued unabated despite pleas from aid groups to end the hostilities and allow aid to reach civilians.
On Wednesday, the Yemeni Defense Ministry said its forces killed some 33 rebels in 24 hours.
The rebels, meanwhile, claimed that they have seized control of a number of military posts near the border with Saudi Arabia.
The U.S. fears the fighting could spill over into neighboring oil-rich Saudi Arabia, as well as provide for al-Qaida militants hiding out in the impoverished nation on the tip of the Arabian peninsula.
Source: Associated Press
YEMEN - 16 SEPTEMBER 2009
SAN'A, Yemen Yemeni warplanes on Wednesday hit a makeshift camp for civilians fleeing fighting between the government and Shiite rebels, killing dozens of people, witnesses said.
An ambulance driver counted 120 people ferried to the local hospital, among them dozens of dead. Three other witnesses reported a similar number of casualties in the area near the rebel-controlled town of Horf Sufyan, north of the capital.
The driver spoke on condition of anonymity because out of fear of government retribution.
Government officials denied the strikes had taken place, but a civil servant in the local government confirmed the attack.
There was no way to independently verify the reports and throughout the five year conflict details of the fighting in the remote mountainous areas have been sketchy.
This is the second reported airstrike against civilians in three days in the conflict-ridden area of northern Yemen. A new round of fighting broke out in Saada and Amran provinces last month.
The Shiite rebels complain their needs are ignored by a government that is increasingly allied with hard-line Sunni fundamentalists, who consider Shiites as heretics.
The Red Cross has registered some 30,000 civilians displaced in the latest round of fighting. Most have taken refuge in major cities, but some are stranded in more remote areas.
Local aid workers and tribal residents in the area said the airstrike came around noon and they reported seeing body parts flying in the air and pools of blood in the barren mountainous region where hundreds of the displaced had taken refuge.
Mohammed, a local aid worker working with the displaced, said he saw missiles hit the area, prompting people to run for cover under a nearby overpass that was then also struck.
"The area turned into a pool of blood. I saw body parts and charred bodies," said Ali, another local aid worker.
A third witness, local resident Yehia, said the ambulances arrived to the area hours after the strike.
The three witnesses agreed to speak to The Associated Press only if their family names were withheld, fearing government retribution.
A statement from the rebel group confirmed that an airstrike targeted a group of displaced, leaving dozens dead.
The attack followed a statement on Monday by the rebels that Yemeni jets dropped two bombs on a crowded local market in the northern town of Saada, killing dozens of civilians.
The fighting has continued unabated despite pleas from aid groups to end the hostilities and allow aid to reach civilians.
On Wednesday, the Yemeni Defense Ministry said its forces killed some 33 rebels in 24 hours.
The rebels, meanwhile, claimed that they have seized control of a number of military posts near the border with Saudi Arabia.
The U.S. fears the fighting could spill over into neighboring oil-rich Saudi Arabia, as well as provide for al-Qaida militants hiding out in the impoverished nation on the tip of the Arabian peninsula.
Source: Associated Press
