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Yemen hospital hit by air strike

The report said ambulances rushed to the scene of the attack to help the injured.

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An airstrike hit a hospital supported by Doctors Without Borders in northern Yemen on Monday, the global humanitarian group said, killing at least 11 people and wounding at least 19 others.

“This latest incident shows that the current rules of engagement, military protocols and procedures are inadequate in avoiding attacks on hospitals and need revision and changes”, said Joan Tubau, MSF general director. At least 19 were injured, the group said.

People gather at the site of a hospital supported by Doctors Without Borders damaged by a Saudi-led airstrike in the northern town of Abs, Yemen, Tuesday, Aug.16, 2016.

The hospital has been supported by the charity since July 2015, and since then more than 4,600 patients have received treatment at the facility.

“Today in Yemen, you risk your life when you seek out care, whether you are a pregnant woman needing a Cesarean or child requiring antibiotics”.

MSF was also in the news last October as USA aircraft hit a facility run by the agency in the war torn city of Kunduz, Afghanistan, killing 30 patients and staff.

According to MSF, at the moment of the strike, there were 23 patients in surgery, 25 patients in the maternity ward, 13 newborns and 12 paediatrics.

The hospital strike was the latest in a series of reported coalition raids hitting civilian facilities – including at a school on Saturday that killed 10 children. Coalition spokesman General Ahmed al-Asseri said the bombing had targeted a centre used by the Houthi militias as a training camp.

The conflict in Yemen is a proxy battleground between two regional powers – Iran and Saudi Arabia. Ten people were wounded that time, including three Doctors Without Borders volunteers.

The UN says more than 6,400 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since March previous year and more than 80 percent of the population is in need of humanitarian aid.

Amnesty International called the hospital attack a “deplorable act” and potentially a war crime.

Earlier this month, it acknowledged “shortcomings” in two of eight cases it investigated of airstrikes on civilian targets in Yemen.

Key Saudi ally Washington expressed concern, with a State Department spokeswoman saying: “Strikes on humanitarian facilities, including hospitals, are particularly concerning”.

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Ban renewed his call to all parties involved in the conflict to immediately cease hostilities and return to direct talks.

At least 8 civilians killed, 20 wounded in Saudi airstrike on Yemeni hospital