Alwaght- Yemenis have come out massively in the capital Sana’a to mark the Martyrs' Day amid continuing two year Saudi-led brutal aggression on the country.
Tens of thousands of Yemenis held the “Loyalty to Martyrs' Blood” march at the iconic Bab al-Yamen (Gate of Yemen) in the country’s capital on Friday. Participants at the march issued a statement reiterating the importance of honoring martyrs and maintaining unity and solidarity in the face of the unabated Saudi aggression on the country.
The statement also urged international and local organizations to stand by the oppressed people of Yemen. The statement which was read by Hussein al-Qadi, the head of the Martyrs’ Foundation, also condemned crimes committed in Yemen by the Saudi regime, referring to a recent fatal airstrike that hit Arhab district of Sana'a.
Over ten mourners including nine women and a child were killed in the merciless Saudi strike that targeted a funeral in the district on Wednesday, witnesses said. The home of a local tribal leader in Ashira, a village north of Sana’a, was destroyed in the strike that also injured dozens more civilians.
Yemeni president slams international silence over Saudi crimes
President of the Supreme Political Council Saleh al-Sammad visited on Thursday Arhab district in Sana'a governorate, offering condolences to victims of the massacre committed by Saudi regime warplanes on a house in the district.
The president condemned “the heinous crimes and massacres committed by the US-Saudi American aggression, criticizing the complicity of the international community with the aggression against Yemen for two years”.
Al-Sammad denounced the international silence towards crimes committed by the aggression warplanes against Yemen, calling lifting the Saudi-imposed blockade which has negatively impacted on 25 million Yemenis.
The President confirmed that the criminal massacres committed by the US-Saudi American aggression against innocent civilians, women and children would increase the Yemeni with patience, stability, freedom, independence and dignity in confronting the aggression.
Last October, Saudi warplanes carried out similar airstrikes against the Yemeni capital Sana’a, targeting a crowded funeral ceremony with UN sources said least 140 people were killed in the assaults. The Saudi-led coalition has admitted it bombed the funeral in Yemen last weekend, killing at least 140 people and wounded about 600, and said claimed “wrong information” was to blame.
Saudi war on Yemen causing world’s worst food crisis
Last week, the Norwegian Refugee Council warned that two years since the start of the Saudi aggression on Yemen, more than 17 million Yemenis do not know if they will be able to put food on the table to feed their families. The report noted that a total of 462,000 Yemeni children are at immediate risk of death from severe malnutrition.
A de-facto blockade on imports, imposed by the Saudi-led coalition, has had a devastating impact on the Yemeni economy.
British,US support for Saudi crimes in Yemen
Britain and the US have provided vital support in Saudi regime’s brutal war on Yemen which has resulted in unprecedented carnage across the impoverished Arab country.
The atrocities, genocide and war crimes committed by the Saudis against Yemenis would have been impossible without the unflinching support of Washington and London. Saudi foreign minister Adel al Jubeil has even arrogantly boasted that British and American military officials are in the command and control center for Saudi airstrikes on Yemen, and have access to lists of targets.
The Saudi military launched an aggression on its impoverished southern neighbor since March 2015 to undermine the Ansarullah movement and restore power to resigned president Abdul Rabuh Mansour Hadi.
Before the Saudi war on Yemen, the country was already the poorest country in the West Asia region. The daily bombardment has destroyed significant parts of health infrastructure, dams, factories, schools, mosques and other important infrastructure projects and exacerbated the already dire humanitarian situation.
According to conservative estimates, nearly 12,000 Yemenis, mostly civilians including women and children have been directly killed during the two year Saudi-led illegal war on Yemen.
UN-backed Yemen peace talks have failed to produce desired results due to Saudi intransigence and persistent ceasefire violations.