28 Mar 2024
Friday 30 October 2015 - 16:27
Story Code : 186527

MSF demands Saudi answer over airstrike on Yemen hospital

Doctors Without Borders, a medical charity organization also known by its French acronym MSF, has called upon Saudi Arabia to provide convincing explanations over a recent aerial attack against a medical facility run by the group in northwestern Yemen.

Speaking at a press conference in the French capital city of Paris on Thursday, Isabelle Defourny, the head of the MSFs operations, said that the hospital was hit by Saudi airstrikes, and that is without a shadow of a doubt.

She added that what the Paris-based medical charity demands is that Riyadh recognizes that this bombing took place, explains what happened, and commits to helping with the deployment of humanitarian assistance.

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday denied that its military aircraft had targeted the MSF-run hospital in the northwestern Yemeni province of Saada on October 26.

Laurent Sury, the head of the MSFs emergency response team, said that five or six strikes hit the hospital and completely destroyed it.



[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"] A Yemeni man carries his bags through the ruins of buildings destroyed in a Saudi airstrike in the capital, Sanaa, October 28, 2015. (Photo by AFP)[/caption]

 

Luckily, there werent any casualties, he said, explaining that the individuals inside the hospital were able to get out in time.

Condemnations

On October 28, Amnesty International said the Saudi attack on the MSF-run hospitalcould amount to a war crime.

The United Nations (UN) has also condemned Saudi Arabias airstrike on the MSF hospital, calling for an immediate probe into the incident.



[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"] A Yemeni man stands next to the ruins of buildings destroyed in a Saudi airstrike in the capital, Sanaa, October 28, 2015. (Photo by AFP)[/caption]

 

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, The Secretary-General (Ban Ki-moon) calls for a prompt, effective and impartial investigation in order to ensure accountability .

The UN chief also urges all parties to the conflict in Yemen to immediately cease all operations, including airstrikes, Dujarric added.

Yemen has been under military strikes by Saudi Arabia on a daily basis since March 26. The strikes are supposedly meant to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to fugitive former Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.

According to a new tally, at least 7,000 people have lost their lives in the Saudi strikes, and a total of nearly 14,000 people have been injured since March.

By Press TV
https://theiranproject.com/vdcirqazyt1avw2.ilct.html
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