Over Dozen Yemeni Fishermen Killed in Saudi Strikes

More than a dozen Yemeni fishermen lost their lives and several others sustained injuries when Saudi fighter jets targeted their fishing boats off the coast of the Western province of Hudaydah as the Riyadh regime continues its atrocious military campaign against its crisis-hit southern neighbor.

News ID: 71885

Date: 20 August 2018 - 15:30

TEHRAN(Defapress)_Yemeni military sources, speaking on condition of anonymity on Sunday, told Al-Masirah television network that Saudi warplanes struck two fishing boats in waters off the Seven Brothers Islands, also known as the Sawabi Islands or Seba Islands, in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, killing 13 people and injuring four others.Yemeni military sources, speaking on condition of anonymity on Sunday, told Al-Masirah television network that Saudi warplanes struck two fishing boats in waters off the Seven Brothers Islands, also known as the Sawabi Islands or Seba Islands, in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, killing 13 people and injuring four others.

Thousands of civilians are trapped in Yemen’s Hudaydah as Saudi Arabia and allies step up their attacks to capture the port city from the Ansarullah movement.

Backed by Saudi-led airstrikes, Emirati forces and militants loyal to Yemen’s former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, launched the Hudaydah offensive on June 13 despite international warnings that it would compound the impoverished nation’s humanitarian crisis.

Hudaydah is a major lifeline to more than 20 million Yemenis, most of whom are in need of humanitarian assistance due to a deadly Saudi-led war on the country launched in March 2015.

The UN reported that Saudi Arabia's ground and air attacks on Yemen's Hudaydah have displaced tens of thousands of families.

Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen since March 2015 to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 17,500 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.

Despite Riyadh's claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi bombers are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.

Reports by independent world bodies have warned that the Saudi-led air campaign against Yemen has driven the impoverished country towards humanitarian disaster, as Saudi Arabia's deadly campaign prevented the patients from travelling abroad for treatment and blocked the entry of medicine into the war-torn country.

Yemen is the world’s largest humanitarian crisis with more than 22 million people in need and is seeing a spike in needs, fuelled by ongoing conflict, a collapsing economy and diminished social services and livelihoods.

A UN panel has compiled a detailed report of civilian casualties caused by the Saudi military and its allies during their war against Yemen, saying the Riyadh-led coalition has used precision-guided munitions in its raids on civilian targets.

message end/