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Yemeni army refutes Saudi allegation of attack on oil pipeline in Ma’rib

The Spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree (file photo)

The Spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree has categorically dismissed an allegation by Saudi media outlets that Yemeni troops and allied fighters from the Popular Committees have attacked an oil pumping station in the central province of Ma’rib as “baseless.”

“Since the start of the brutal aggression against our country, we have committed ourselves to sparing national installations, whether they serve all people or only part of it,” the Arabic-language al-Masirah television network quoted Saree as saying on Sunday.

“Even though our missiles and unmanned aerial aircraft have reached the enemy’s depth and targeted its installations, we have never attacked any national facility inside our country.”

Earlier in the day, Yemeni Deputy Foreign Minister, Hussein al-Ezzi, said Saudi-led coalition forces had attacked the Kofel pumping station in what he described as a dangerous escalation.

Saudi state-run news agency (SPA) alleged that Yemeni army forces and their allies had targeted an oil pipeline in Safar oil field of Ma’rib, causing damage.

Also on Sunday, Saudi-led warplanes launched ten airstrikes against the Hazm district in Yemen’s northern province of al-Jawf.

Saudi-led warplanes also carried out six air raids against the Harad district in the northern province of Hajjah.

3,526 educational facilities affected by Saudi-led campaign: Official

Meanwhile, a high-ranking Yemeni official said at least 3,526 educational centers have been affected as a result of the Saudi-led military aggression.

Deputy Yemeni Minister of Education Abdullah al-Naami said at a press conference in the capital Sana’a that such attacks are aimed at keeping the Yemeni nation in the dark.

Naami said Saudi-led forces of aggression have targeted both Yemeni teachers and students over the past five years, emphasizing that 402 schools have been totally destroyed during the onslaught.

He went on to say that some 1,465 educational centers have been partially damaged, while another 666 have been forced to close down. A total of 993 schools are housing internally displaced persons as well.

Naami highlighted that schools in the provinces of Ta’iz, Sa’ada, Hajjah and Sana’a have had the largest share of direct targeting of educational facilities by the Saudi-led coalition and its mercenaries.

He pointed out that nearly 200,000 teachers have been denied their salaries as a result of the Saudi-imposed blockade, stressing that five million Yemeni students have been affected educationally and psychologically as well.

Naami also said forces of the Saudi-led coalition and their mercenaries have prevented the import of paper needed for printing textbooks meant for Yemeni school students.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched the devastating war on Yemen in March 2015 in order to bring former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to power and crush the Houthi Ansarullah movement.

The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the war has claimed more than 100,000 lives over the past five years.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have purchased billions of dollars' worth of weapons from the United States, France and the United Kingdom in their war on Yemen.

Riyadh and its allies have been widely criticized for the high civilian death toll resulted from their bombing campaign in Yemen.

The UN says over 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger.


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