“What did they find at the hospital other than the sick and the wounded and the injured?”
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The Saudi-led coalition bombing rebels in Yemen launched an investigation yesterday following worldwide condemnation of an air raid that Doctors Without Borders said killed 11 people at a hospital it supports.
MSF said that the Global Positioning System coordinates of the hospital “were repeatedly shared with all parties to the conflict, including the Saudi-led coalition, and its location was well-known”.
In January, the MSF-supported Shiara hospital in Razeh, northern Yemen, was hit by a projectile, killing six and injuring seven.
Mr McPhun said the Saudi-led coalition would have been aware “without doubt” of what the MSF facility was.
Since July 2015, 4,611 patients have been treated at the hospital, the main health centre functioning in the western part of Hajjah Governorate.
Alessandra Vellucci from the United Nations said: “The Secretary General notes that the parties to the conflict in Yemen have damaged or destroyed over 70 health centres including three other MSF (Medecins Sans Frontieres)-supported facilities”.
The coalition, which includes the UAE, began the bombing campaign in March previous year in support of the internationally recognised government against Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies.
MSF reported in May that since a year ago, aerial attacks on MSF-supported health institutions have killed at least 100 staff members and wounded another 130.
“We’ve shared the Global Positioning System coordinates with all parties to the conflict including the Saudi-led coalition”, Mr McPhun said.
“Once again, today we witness the tragic consequences of the bombing of a hospital”.
The bombing comes two days after a Saudi-led coalition airstrike targeted a Koranic school in an enclave of the northern city of Saada, killing 10 children and wounding 28 more.
“Coalition officials repeatedly state that they honor worldwide humanitarian law, yet this attack shows a failure to control the use of force and to avoid attacks on hospitals full of patients”, MSF said, urging an independent investigation.
“Coalition officials repeatedly state that they honor worldwide humanitarian law, yet this attack shows a failure to control the use of force and to avoid attacks on hospitals full of patients.” it continued.
Earlier this month, it acknowledged “shortcomings” in two of eight cases it investigated of airstrikes on civilian targets in Yemen. At the time of the airstrike, 23 people were in its surgery unit, 25 people and 13 newborns in its maternity ward, and 12 others in its pediatric facility.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the air strike on Sunday and called for a investigation, which the coalition said it would conduct, according to a statement sent to Reuters.
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It found the coalition guilty of “mistakenly” hitting a residential compound and an MSF-run hospital, but accused the rebels of having used the hospital as a hideout.
