Alwaght | News & Analysis Website

Alwaght- Saudi regime warplanes have dropped bombs on a hospital in north Yemen run by medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres-Doctors Without Borders- (MSF) in yet another war crime by the monarchy in its eight month war on Yemen.
"Our hospital in the Heedan district of Saada governorate was hit several times. Fortunately, the first hit damaged the operations theater while it was empty and the staff were busy with people in the emergency room. They just had time to run off as another missile hit the maternity ward," MSF country director Hassan Boucenine told reuters by telephone from Yemen.
"It could be a mistake, but the fact of the matter is it's a war crime. There's no reason to target a hospital. We provided (the coalition) with all of our GPS coordinates about two weeks ago," he said. At least two staff members were hurt by flying debris, according to Boucenine.
On Tuesday the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, condemned the hospital strike, calling for “a prompt, effective and impartial investigation in order to ensure accountability”. In a statement, a UN spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, added: “The secretary-general calls on all parties to the conflict in Yemen to immediately cease all operations, including air strikes.”
Natalie Roberts was MSF’s emergency coordinator for the area last summer and worked at the hospital that was struck on Monday night. She said it was the only functional hospital in the region and had a large catchment area.
“It’s an area that had a lot of civilian casualties from the Saudi airstrikes – the town the hospital is in was usually hit by Saudi airstrikes about three times a week and the nearby towns were hit pretty much every day,” she said.
Roberts added that a nearby girls’ school was bombed several times when she worked in the area. “It’s destroyed. The children haven’t been able to go to school for months, pretty much since the war started. They still seem to be bombing the school even though there’s no one in there.”
Saying that it "may amount to a war crime", Amnesty International called for an independent investigation into the attack.

"The attack on Haydan Hospital appears to have been an unlawful attack causing harm to civilians and civilian objects," said Philip Luther, Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the UK-based rights group.

"The consecutive airstrikes show deliberate targeting of the medical facility - this is another sad day for civilians.

"Hospitals and medical units must be respected and protected in all circumstances - they only lose their protection against attack if they are used for military purposes."

Luther said that the attack on the hospital "means the loss of vital humanitarian treatment for civilians across four directorates of northern Yemen". 
This is the second time this month that an MSF facility has been hit in a war zone. Its hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz was bombed by US forces on 3 October, killing at least 22 people.
Human rights groups have expressed concern at the mounting deaths caused by the Saudi-led airstrikes while mediation efforts by a UN envoy has yet to achieve a political solution or slow the pace of combat.
The Saudi regime is supported by its  allies, the US and Britain, which provide military equipment and intelligence support.
Aid agencies say a key issue was the Saudi blockade of all major ports and airports, which means food imports struggle to get through. About 13 million of Yemen’s 23 million population are already defined as “food insecure” and 21 million are in need of assistance.
Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen for eight months now to restore power to fugitive president Abed Rabbu Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed almost 7000 Yemenis, mostly innocent civilians including hundreds of women and children.
Despite Riyadh’s claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah resistance fighters, who are warding off the foreign occupation of their country, Saudi warplanes are indiscriminately targeting residential areas and civilian infrastructure including schools, mosques and hospitals.