On Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition denied carrying out an airstrike on a prison in Yemen’s rebel-held north that killed at least 70 people, including migrants, women, and children, according to relief organizations.
The alliance dismissed claims that the military coalition authorized the raid, which reduced houses to rubble and left rescuers scrambling for survivors with their bare hands.
The attack was criticized by the UN Secretary-General, who also condemned a coalition hit on Hodeida that killed three children and knocked out the poor country’s internet.
However, “these allegations espoused by the militia are baseless and unfounded,” according to coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki, referring to the Huthi militants backed by Iran.
The Huthis claimed their first lethal attack on Abu Dhabi, the capital of coalition partner the United Arab Emirates, on Monday, sparking the latest carnage in Yemen’s persistent seven-year war.
This week has seen a major uptick in the fighting, which has already killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions, producing the world’s biggest humanitarian disaster, according to the United Nations.
The rebels took the capital Sanaa in 2014, sparking a Saudi-led intervention in March 2015, which was backed by the US, France, and the UK. It was only supposed to last a few weeks.
According to site watchdog NetBlocks, the internet outage, which entered its second day on Saturday, hindered rescue efforts and media reporting as information slowed to a trickle.
The Huthis published an unconfirmed film showing horrible images at the bombed-damaged prison facility, as rescue workers scrambled to pull out bodies and mangled bodies were piled in piles.
