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At least 31 civilians were killed in strikes on Yemen on Saturday, the United Nations said, following a Saudi-led operation in response to one of its fighter jet crashing, with Iran-backed Huthi rebels claiming to have shot it down.
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The Tornado aircraft came down Friday in northern Al-Jawf province during an operation to support government forces, a rare crash that prompted operations in the area by a Saudi-led military coalition fighting the rebels.
The deadly violence follows an upsurge in fighting in northern Yemen between the warring parties that threatens to worsen the war-battered countrys humanitarian crisis.
“Preliminary field reports indicate that on 15 February as many as 31 civilians were killed and 12 others injured in strikes that hit Al-Hayjah area… in Al-Jawf governorate,” said a statement from the office of the UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen.
The UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen Lise Grande denounced the “terrible strikes”.
“So many people are being killed in Yemen—its a tragedy and its unjustified,” she said.
« Under international humanitarian law parties which resort to force are obligated to protect civilians. Five years into this conflict and belligerents are still failing to uphold this responsibility. Its shocking, » she added.
The rebels reported multiple coalition air strikes in the area where the plane went down, according to rebel television station Al-Masirah.
They said women and children were among the dead and wounded.
The coalition conceded the « possibility of collateral damage » during a « search and rescue operation » at the crash site.
A coalition statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency did not specify the fate of the crew or the cause of the crash.
A major blow
But the Huthi rebels released footage of what they called the launch of their « advanced surface-to-air missile » and the moment it struck the jet in the night sky, sending it crashing down in a ball of flames.
« The downing of a Tornado in the sky above Al-Jawf is a major blow to the enemy and an indication of remarkable growth in Yemeni (rebel) air defence capabilities, » Huthi spokesman Mohammed Abdelsalam tweeted.
The insurgents reported multiple coalition air strikes on Saturday in the Huthi-controlled area where the plane went down as local residents gathered near the smouldering wreckage, according to the rebels Al-Masirah television.
The escalation follows fierce fighting around the Huthi-held capital Sanaa, with the rebels seen to be advancing on several fronts towards Al-Hazm, the regional capital of Al-Jawf.
The province of Al-Jawf has been mostly controlled by the Huthis, but its capital remains in the hands of the Saudi-backed government.
Massively expanded arsenal
The downing of a coalition warplane marks a setback for a military alliance known for its air supremacy and signals the rebels increasingly potent military arsenal.
“At the start of the conflict the Huthis were a ragtag militia,” Fatima Abo Alasrar, a scholar at the Middle East Institute, told AFP.
« Today they have massively expanded their arsenal with the help of IRead More – Source
