Coalition probes deadly strike on Yemen hospital

The Abs facility in the Hajja province is run by aid group Médecins Sans Frontières, they said they had repeatedly giving Global Positioning System coordinates to all parties in the conflict, including the Saudi-led coalition.

“Once again, today we witness the tragic consequences of the bombing of a hospital”, she said.

“Given the intensity of the current offensive and our loss of confidence in the SLCs (Saudi-led coalition’s) ability to prevent such fatal attacks, MSF considers the hospitals in Saada and Hajjah governorates unsafe for both patients and staff”, the medical group stated.

The organisation also said all remaining patients and staff had been evacuated from the hospital in the Abs district. It promised to publicly announce findings of the probe.

On Saturday, at least 10 Yemeni children were killed and dozens more were injured after a school was hit by air strikes, the Associated Press reported.

Earlier this month, the coalition acknowledged “shortcomings” in two out of eight cases it has investigated of UN-condemned air strikes on civilian targets in Yemen.

Earlier this month, the coalition acknowledged that it had committed “unintended bombings” that caused civilian casualties, blaming United Nations agencies for not coordinating with it.

MSF Yemen wrote on Twitter that the Abs hospital was “targeted by air strikes” at 15:45 (12:45 GMT) on Monday.

Doctors Without Borders, one of the largest medical charities, has chose to evacuate its staff from all six hospitals it supports in northern Yemen, because it can not guarantee their safety from “indiscriminate bombings” by the Saudi-led coalition.

A hospital in Saada was hit by a projectile this January, killing six people. The US government has apologized for the attack and paid compensation to survivors and the families of those killed.

“Coalition officials repeatedly state that they honor global humanitarian law, yet this attack shows a failure to control the use of force and to avoid attacks on hospitals full of patients”, MSF said, urging an independent investigation.

Key Saudi ally Washington raised concerns about the reports, with State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau saying: “Strikes on humanitarian facilities, including hospitals, are particularly concerning”.

“It’s a rural hospital which was full when the raid occurred, although it is hard to estimate how many”, she said. “We urge all parties to the conflict to reach a political solution to stop the violence and put an end to the bloodshed”. The world can not continue to turn a blind eye as the most vulnerable suffer in this bad conflict.