News   /   More

Civilians bear the brunt of Saudi invasion of Yemen

Yemenis stand at the site of a Saudi airstrike against Houthi Ansarullah fighters near Sana’a Airport, Yemen, on March 26, 2015. (© AFP)

Civilians are the main victims as neighboring Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with its airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in Yemen, Press TV reports.

Local residents say dozens of civilians have been killed after Saudi warplanes flattened a number of residential neighborhoods near Sana’a international airport. 

Despite Riyadh's claims that it is attacking Ansarullah positions, the Saudi bombardment has wiped out some entire families in the troubled region, the report added. 

The shattered remains of several homes in the region shows the depth of the destruction, the report noted.

Warplanes of the Saudi Air Force bombed the positions of the Ansarullah fighters and launched attacks against the Sana'a airport and the Dulaimi airbase early on Thursday.

Press TV's correspondent in the Yemeni capital said on Friday that Saudi Arabia has reportedly given a three-day ultimatum to Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah fighters to withdraw from all political and security institutions and key military bases in the country, and leave the capital, otherwise they will face intensified attacks.

However, the Ansarullah fighters and their supporters have vowed to defend their country against the Saudi aggression.

A Yemeni man wearing a military fatigue sits above debris at the site of a Saudi airstrike against Houthi fighters near Sana'a Airport on March 26, 2015,

Figures show some 50 people have been killed so far and dozens more injured across Yemen since the Saudi-led airstrikes began on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has warned of a possible “major humanitarian crisis” in Yemen in the near future as the impoverished country comes under Saudi airstrikes.

A Yemeni mother holds her malnourished infant at a therapeutic feeding center in the capital Sana’a. © AFP

UNICEF’s Yemen representative, Julien Harneis, said on Friday that the crisis could befall the Arabian Peninsula country within months if the international community fails to immediately increase efforts to help Sana’a provide food and vaccines for Yemeni children.

Riyadh says it has launched the strikes to defend the “legitimate government” of the fugitive Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, upon his request.

Saudi airstrikes against the impoverished Arab country have drawn condemnation from many countries, including Iran, Iraq, and Russia, as well as the Lebanese resistance movement, Hezbollah.

JR/AS/MHB


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku