The group, also known as its French name, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said on Twitter that warplanes struck a hospital in the Abs area of northern Hajjeh province and that the coordinates and map location of the facility were sent to Saudi-led coalition forces and other warring parties in Yemen in an attempt to prevent any possible attacks.
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The strikes come less than 48 hours after the charity accused the coalition of killing 10 children in air strikes on a Koranic school in Saada.
A Joint Incidents Assessment Team, composed of members of the coalition, said it “has urgently launched an independent investigation” into the hospital strike and promised to announce its findings publicly.
Rights groups and United Nations agencies say that more than 9,000 people have been killed since the Yemen war escalated with the Saudi-led airstrikes.
A few months ago, two MSF-run hospitals in neighboring Saada province were hit by several airstrikes, as the Saudi-led military coalition admitted its mistakes.
The coalition denied targeting a school, saying instead that it bombed a camp at which rebels train underage soldiers.
“Hospitals and medical personnel are explicitly protected under global humanitarian law and any attack directed against them, or against any civilian persons or infrastructure, is a serious violation of worldwide humanitarian law”, Ban said in a statement. The death toll includes Abdul Kareem al Hakeemi, an MSF staff member who died from injuries caused by the blast.
At least eight civilians are killed and 20 others injured in a Saudi airstrike on a hospital north of Yemen as Saudi Arabia continues to carry out deadly airstrikes against the impoverished Arab country in defiance of a ceasefire.
The MSF facility in Haydan, Saada governorate, was also bombed in October past year. The U.S. government has apologized for the attack and paid compensation to survivors and the families of those killed.
“Without action, these public gestures are meaningless for today’s victims”, she said.
The Spokesperson for the High Representative for EU Foreign Policy Federica Mogherini and Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides condemned – on behalf of the EU and its Member States – the recent air attack on a fully operational hospital in northern Yemen on Monday (15 August).
MSF has spent 860 tons of medical supplies to provide medical assistance to 108,000 patients in the emergency room, including 37,000 war wounded cases since it started operating in the region. The agency added it would provide more information as it becomes available.
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“It’s a rural hospital which was full when the raid occurred, although it is hard to estimate how many”, she said. News stories displayed here appear in our category for global and are licensed via a specific agreement between LongIsland.com and The Associated Press, the world’s oldest and largest news organization. For the protection of AP and its licensors, content may not be copied, altered or redistributed in any form. Doing so may result in civil and/or criminal penalties.
