Saudi Arabia has said it 'regretted' an air strike on a funeral in the Yemeni capital Sana'a that killed 142 mourners.
Saudi Arabia has said it ‘regretted’ an air strike on a funeral in the Yemeni capital Sana’a that killed 142 mourners.
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However, the kingdom stopped short of admitting it carried out the attack.
Thousands in Yemen protest airstrike that hit funeral hall and killed more than 140 https://t.co/f7H6bI9koy pic.twitter.com/Yg5ENiMurj
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) October 10, 2016
Saturday’s carnage, one of the deadliest since the Saudi-led coalition began military operations in March 2015, brought a terse response from the United States and the UN.
Air strike on #Yemen funeral kills at least 82https://t.co/e4QXfGsE7t pic.twitter.com/rzzOokoFFx
— TRT World (@trtworld) October 8, 2016
UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon made the following statement:
“Saturday’s funeral bombing was a heartless attack on civilians and an outrageous violation of international humanitarian law.Initial reports from the site indicate that this too was a coalition attack. Excuses ring hollow given the pattern of violence throughout the conflict. Parties cannot hide behind the fog of this war.”
The Houthi rebel group backed by Iran, which the Saudi’s are trying to remove, retaliated by firing a missile at the Taif military air base some 40 km for the holy city of Mecca.
In Sana’a people took to the streets to demand an international inquiry into the attack.
The Saudi’s have lunched a coalition probe.