At least seven people were killed and 20 wounded when a Saudi-led and US-backed coalition airstrike blasted a hospital in Yemen’s northern Hajja province on Monday, authorities said.
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The attack on the hospital cames two days after MSF said at least 10 children had been killed and about 30 wounded in an air strike on a school in Haydan, in Yemen’s northwestern Saada province.
In response to an Associated Press request for comment, the Saudi-led coalition said its Joint Incidents Assessment Team “is aware of reports of an airstrike on a hospital in Yemen’s northern Hajjah province”.
The coalition said the bombing had targeted a training facility run by Yemen’s dominant Houthi movement but MSF and the UN Children’s agency UNICEF confirmed it was a school.
“The order covers employees of the ministries of interior, defence, and the National Guard”, it said, without giving the total cost of the bonus.
In late July, 12 Saudi soldiers were killed in border clashes during the most serious fighting in months along the frontier.
“Strikes on humanitarian facilities, including hospitals, are particularly concerning”.
The Arab coalition began launching airstrikes in support of the Sunni government against the Shiite Houthi minority rebels in March 2015.
“The secretary general notes with dismay that civilians, including kids, continue to suffer the brunt of increased combat and military operations in Yemen”, the instruction read.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack on Monday and called for a swift investigation.
“Continued military actions only prolong the suffering of the Yemeni people”, the United States diplomat said.
“This investigation will be independent and will follow global standards”.
The U.S. State Department is “deeply concerned” about the reported hospital strike and is conferring with Saudi officials about civilian casualties, said spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau.
“Sanaa worldwide airport will be reopened to United Nations flights and those of other agencies from Monday”, a coalition statement said.
About 6,500 people have been killed in fighting so far, more than half of them civilians.
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Also on Monday, Tunisia said the release of Tunisian-French ICRC staffer Nourane Houas, who was kidnapped in Yemen in December previous year, had become a priority for Tunisian diplomacy.
