West Asia News and Discussions

kit · Post by **kit** » 13 May 2019 16:49

abhik wrote:India is a non player in ME, let's not delude ourselves that we will be able to broker a peace between Israel and Iran, non of the players give a rats a$$ weather we object or not.

Brokering a deal does not involve power play, India is not trying to make anyone do its bidding. Rather it has good understanding with both Israel and Iran. India is the best country that can actually broker such a deal ..other than Russia.

Russia would rather keep the fires burning as this would keep oil prices high.

ArjunPandit · Post by **ArjunPandit** » 14 May 2019 20:08

https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-arab ... lista_pos5

Saudi Arabia said Tuesday it halted pumping on a major oil pipeline after it was hit by armed drones, the latest attack on its energy infrastructure after two of its oil tankers were damaged near the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.

The armed drones attacked two pump stations on a pipeline that transports oil from the Eastern Province to Yanbu port on the Red Sea, said Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih in a statement. The attack early in the morning caused minor damage and a fire that has since been contained, he said.

Oil prices rose after reports of the attack. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was up 1.4% at $71.22 a barrel in afternoon trading in London. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil standard, was up 1.1% at $61.74 a barrel.

Saudi Aramco, which operates the pipeline, has temporarily shutdown the pipeline to evaluate its condition. The oil company is working on restoring the pump station before resuming operations, the statement added.

The Saudi statement comes hours after the Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed their drones targeted vital Saudi facilities, according to a pro-Houthi TV report citing a Houthi military source.

The Saudi minister noted that Saudi oil production hasn’t been interrupted by the attack. He said the recent attacks not only targeted the kingdom but also the security of world oil supplies.

Mr. Falih didn’t directly blame the Houthis but noted it was important to face such terrorist entities.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 14 May 2019 21:09

Sounds like the Ali Stair Bin McLean novel "Athabasca". Terrorists there were insiders, and all for money, nothing to do with anything else.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 16 May 2019 06:11

Worth a read.
The Hidden Sources of Iranian Strength

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/05/15/th ... -strength/

Historically, the connections between Iran, Iraq, and the Levant go back generations. Long-standing trade and pilgrimage routes, as well as a constellation of religious seminaries, meant that communities and entire families seamlessly traveled, lived, conversed, and created cultural and social ties. The mere existence of these ties, however, does not translate into politically active groups. Policymakers and the public misunderstand the nature of these ties, explaining them as ones bound by Shiism as a traditional, religious doctrine. This misunderstanding arises from a fundamentally flawed framework that undergirds Washington’s entire Iran and Middle East policy—a belief that what drove the 1979 revolution in Iran was a fanatical quest for Islamic politics. But what actually binds these groups together is not an adherence to specific theological doctrine—if that were the case, Iran would not have close relationships with certain Palestinian factions, nor with Iraqi Kurdish groups, to say nothing of ties to Bashar al-Assad in Syria or the Houthis in Yemen. In order to understand how a political quest for sovereignty, rather than an otherworldly quest for religious rule, animates Iran’s relations with its proxies, it is first necessary to unpack current assumptions about the revolution that led to the Islamic Republic.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 16 May 2019 07:39

This person paints the Iranian revolution in French Revolution terms. And the clergy was exporting similar feudal overthrow of Western supported monarchies.
I once wrote about Arab Nationalism vs Islamic Fundamentalism.
The latter was supported by West in Arab world and looks like they had a blind spot in Iran.
And into the gap stepped in Khomeini to lead this movement.
However its still the clergy that calls the shots.
So is this Iranian Clerical Nationalism?

ricky_v · Post by **ricky_v** » 20 May 2019 17:27

apologies if posted before
https://www.globalsecurity.org/military ... /tiran.htm

Thousands in the Egyptian capital Cairo protested President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi decision to hand over two islands to Saudi Arabia. Sisi’s government announced the uninhabited islands of Tiran and Sanafir would be demarcated as being in Saudi waters. The move seemed to have hurt many Egyptians national pride. Saudi Arabia insists it transferred the islands temporarily to Egypt in 1950 to ward off a possible Israeli attack. Israel eventually did occupy the islands after the Suez War of 1956. It returned the entire Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in 1982, in accordance with the 1978 Camp David agreements.

A bridge over the Sea that separates Egypt and Saudi Arabia is to be established, Saudi's King Salman said in Cairo on 08 April 2016 in a press conference with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. This bridge will give teh Saudi military direct access to Egypt, in the event of further unrest in that country.

Eilat is Israel’s only port in the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea, while Aqaba is Jordan’s sole outlet there. According to the United States perception, precedents pointed to Aqaba as an international waterway; the United States could not make an exception in Aqaba just because of the Israeli situation.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 22 May 2019 06:21

Now we see the NOTAM prediction

Air defense crews raced to action in the southern Saudi Arabian city of Najran Tuesday night to intercept an attack from Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi rebels as tensions remain high between Tehran and the United States. The attack on Najran, about 10 miles north of the Saudi border with Yemen, was carried out by one Qasef K-2 drone armed with an explosive warhead and targeted a Saudi airport and military facility, the Houthi news outlet Al Masirah said. The broadcaster added that the drone struck an "arms depot," causing a fire.
(MORE: Houthi rebels carry out drone attack on Yemeni military commanders)
Najran has repeatedly been targeted by the Houthis since the Saudi-led war in Yemen began four years ago. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are leading a Western-backed coalition of Sunni Muslim states seeking to restore the internationally recognized government ousted from power in Yemen by the Houthis in late 2014. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
On Tuesday morning, in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) and reported in the pro-regime newspaper Arab News, Colonel Turki Al-Maliki, the spokesman of the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the war in Yemen, said Houthi militants had tried to hit a civilian facility in Najran with a drone carrying explosives.
"The Houthi-backed terrorist militia of Iran continues to carry out acts of terrorism that pose a real threat to regional and international security by targeting civilian objects and civilian facilities, as well as civilian citizens and residents of all nationalities," Al-Maliki said in the statement.
Saudi Arabia initially declared on Twitter that it had intercepted two "Iranian-made" missiles fired against the province of Mecca, many miles to the north, but Houthi rebels denied targeting Mecca, Islam's holiest site.
Houthi commanders called the claim a tactic by Saudi Arabia to rally support for its war in Yemen. "The Saudi regime is trying, through these allegations, to rally support for its brutal aggression against our great Yemeni people," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said on Facebook, according to a Reuters report.
Riyadh has accused Iran of ordering last week's drone strikes on two oil pumping stations in the kingdom, for which the Houthis claimed responsibility. Tehran denied responsibility for the strikes.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 29 May 2019 04:24

Lots of news.
Omani diplomacy prevailed over DC and Tehran to avoid clash.
Iran asked Russia to transfer S400 to protect against US. Putin said we don’t want to get involved in your problem with the US!

Trump advisor warned Trump in Japan that Iran could collapse quickly - we don’t want another Iraq or Libya. This led to statement that Trump doesn’t seek regime change

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 02 Jun 2019 15:37

IN conducting surveillance flights - past TSP, Iran onto Oman for refuel and beyond into Gulf of Aden and Djibouti (PLAN base) etc

https://wap.business-standard.com/artic ... 230_1.html

IndraD · Post by **IndraD** » 02 Jul 2019 02:23

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/ ... 1562001266
6th wife of King Maktoum , ruler of Dubai : Princess Hyat has fled to London, and filed divorce petition there (how & why will UK court intervene?!)

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 02 Jul 2019 02:34

Perhaps it's understandable why she ran away.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 04 Jul 2019 23:39

UAE FM arrives on Sunday for talks

Besides the CQBs, the two leaders are also expected to discuss further about UAE’s interest in buying `Made in India’ Akash surface-to-air missile system as well as the BrahMos Missile. India and Russia have both agreed ‘in principle’ to export the world’s fastest anti-ship cruise missile, BrahMos, to UAE as there is no conflict of interest.

India confirmed that it will buy Caracal CQB weapons from the UAE.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 05 Jul 2019 14:01

IndraD wrote:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/ ... 1562001266
6th wife of King Maktoum , ruler of Dubai : Princess Hyat has fled to London, and filed divorce petition there (how & why will UK court intervene?!)

She has a British mother and hence possibly a British citizen and probably close to the queen as well.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 05 Jul 2019 16:29

She married the billionaire Sheikh Mohammed in 2004 and is his sixth wife. The princess was educated at private schools in the UK and studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University. She has served on the International Olympic Committee and has been a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations world food programme.

^^^ why does a accomplished woman like her , coming from the relatively much liberal jordanian society agree to marry as the *6th wife* of a gulf arab. I can only imagine UAE gave some loan to Jordan and this was payback under some pressure.

kit · Post by **kit** » 05 Jul 2019 16:34

ArjunPandit wrote:https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-arab ... lista_pos5

Saudi Arabia said Tuesday it halted pumping on a major oil pipeline after it was hit by armed drones, the latest attack on its energy infrastructure after two of its oil tankers were damaged near the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.

The armed drones attacked two pump stations on a pipeline that transports oil from the Eastern Province to Yanbu port on the Red Sea, said Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih in a statement. The attack early in the morning caused minor damage and a fire that has since been contained, he said.

Oil prices rose after reports of the attack. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was up 1.4% at $71.22 a barrel in afternoon trading in London. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil standard, was up 1.1% at $61.74 a barrel.

Saudi Aramco, which operates the pipeline, has temporarily shutdown the pipeline to evaluate its condition. The oil company is working on restoring the pump station before resuming operations, the statement added.

The Saudi statement comes hours after the Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed their drones targeted vital Saudi facilities, according to a pro-Houthi TV report citing a Houthi military source.

The Saudi minister noted that Saudi oil production hasn’t been interrupted by the attack. He said the recent attacks not only targeted the kingdom but also the security of world oil supplies.

Mr. Falih didn’t directly blame the Houthis but noted it was important to face such terrorist entities.

I feel Saudi has more to gain from such random attacks than the Houthis !! .. for one thing it serves to increase oil prices !!

IndraD · Post by **IndraD** » 05 Jul 2019 17:13

mean while UK forces have detained Iran's oil vessel going to Panama in Gibraltar strait. UK sucking up to US to please as usual.

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 09 Jul 2019 01:04

any chance of anti-Islamic revolution in Iran?

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 09 Jul 2019 06:19

Iran poses as a more moderate than gcc arabis and indeed its common people surely are but mukhabarat
Is equally ruthless and so is the ulema

So called spies and criminals are hanged using construction cranes and a rope in town squares and are also beaten black n blue with long sticks tied to a bench

Its just that they have not started big fires in india using shias yet and not many indians work there so less chances of radicalized ppl from their filtering backflow

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 09 Jul 2019 06:23

https://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/human- ... ee-men-rec

Http://mohabatnews.com/en/?p=2927eive-7 ... -in-public

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 09 Jul 2019 06:27

Woman given 80 lashes for drinking alcohol
Pic of her horrific wounds here

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2179948/i ... -alinejad/

Do not for a moment think the ulema are pro india or compatible with indic values. Its mahmud of ghazni lite

But if revolution falls the common ppl will revert to much more liberal values like lebanon or syrian coastal people

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 19 Jul 2019 12:57

https://twitter.com/detresfa_/status/11 ... 90048?s=21
IAF C17s returning from Abu Dhabi looks like. Must be Sankalp or Garuda related

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 19 Jul 2019 13:44

Singha wrote:Woman given 80 lashes for drinking alcohol
Pic of her horrific wounds here

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2179948/i ... -alinejad/

Do not for a moment think the ulema are pro india or compatible with indic values. Its mahmud of ghazni lite

But if revolution falls the common ppl will revert to much more liberal values like lebanon or syrian coastal people

There is always a threat of people reverting to hardline ways. Just like erdogan is trying to do with Turkey.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 19 Jul 2019 13:58

No ways, the Greenest of the Greens always wins, Liberals in such societies are not willing to fight and die for liberty while the greens are. People are also put under huge psychological pressure of being sinners from the Green side. So there is no way reforms can take place.

mmasand · Post by **mmasand** » 19 Jul 2019 14:37

shyamd wrote:https://twitter.com/detresfa_/status/11 ... 90048?s=21
IAF C17s returning from Abu Dhabi looks like. Must be Sankalp or Garuda related

One out of Dhafra, the other out of Minhad. Also, caught a glimpse of an IL-78 out of Minhad.

kit · Post by **kit** » 19 Jul 2019 15:56

mmasand wrote:
shyamd wrote:https://twitter.com/detresfa_/status/11 ... 90048?s=21
IAF C17s returning from Abu Dhabi looks like. Must be Sankalp or Garuda related
One out of Dhafra, the other out of Minhad. Also, caught a glimpse of an IL-78 out of Minhad.

Abu Dhabi and Dubai are hot spots of simmering international intrigue espionage geopolitics et al under a placid screen .. everyone and his uncle who is someone has a role here.

darshan · Post by **darshan** » 19 Jul 2019 21:05

More Than 8,000 Indian Prisoners Including Undertrials Lodged In Foreign Jails: MEA Informs Rajya Sabha
https://swarajyamag.com/insta/more-than ... ajya-sabha
“As per the information available with the Ministry, the number of Indian prisoners in foreign jails as of 31.05.2019 is 8189 which also includes under-trials,” Minister of State for External Affairs V Maraleedharan said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

Saudi Arabia has the highest 1,811 Indian prisoners, followed by the UAE with 1,392 and Nepal 1,160 jail inmates, the minister informed.

"However, due to strong privacy laws prevailing in many countries, the local authorities do not share information on prisoners unless the person concerned consents to the disclosure of such information," he said.

The minister said even countries which share information do not generally provide detailed information about the people of foreign countries imprisoned.

IndraD · Post by **IndraD** » 20 Jul 2019 02:13

Tension escalates in Gulf after Iran seizes UK flagged oil tanker

British-flagged oil tanker was seized by Iran on Friday night and was heading towards a Revolutionary Guard base, in a major escalation of tensions along one of the world's most vital oil shipping routes.

The Stena Impero had been en route to Saudi Arabia but made an abrupt change of course and began moving towards the Iranian island of Qeshm, according to data relayed by maritime tracking services.

The ship “went dark”, meaning its identification system was turned off, at 16:29 UK time and nothing has been heard from her or her 23 crew since.

Northern Marine, a Clyde-based subsidiary of the ship's Swedish owner Stena AB, confirmed that a “hostile action” had preceded the vessel's change of course on Friday afternoon.

They issued a statement saying it had been “approached by unidentified small crafts and a helicopter during transit of the Strait of Hormuz while the vessel was in international waters.”

There were also concerns about a second oil tanker, the British-operated, Liberian-flagged Mesdar, which turned sharply north towards Iran's coast, about 40 minutes after the Stena Impero's course shift.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/0 ... it-hormuz/

IndraD · Post by **IndraD** » 20 Jul 2019 02:20

Iran has confirmed it has seized second oil tanker of UK

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 20 Jul 2019 07:35

UK should peacefully resolve all differences with Iran w/o escalation

IndraD · Post by **IndraD** » 21 Aug 2019 20:37

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yeme ... SKCN1V91UG
UAE backed separatists no more with Saudi , seize control of South.
Bifurcation of Yemen imminent.
Saudi getting steam rolled here and there .

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 21 Aug 2019 20:53

Yemen was created before the UK left by merging North and South Yemen.,
North Yemen located close to KSA is Shia and South Yemen far away is Sunni.

Gyan · Post by **Gyan** » 22 Aug 2019 09:33

Southern Saudi Arabia, I believe is Shia

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 22 Aug 2019 11:41

Eastern oil rich area is Shia.

Mukesh.Kumar · Post by **Mukesh.Kumar** » 24 Aug 2019 16:14

X-Posting from Achievement Tracking thread- This is a big one indeed.

Could I request Rakshaks living in UAE to consider evaluating a Rupay card?

Mukesh.Kumar wrote:RUPAY launched in UAE. This is a big one for our indigenous payment system.

ricky_v · Post by **ricky_v** » 25 Aug 2019 15:33

https://www.rt.com/news/467245-israel-m ... s-lebanon/

Israeli warplanes reportedly carried out mock bombing raids over the Lebanese city of Sidon following Israeli Defense Forces attacks on “Iranian targets” in neighboring Syria.
Lebanon’s National News Agency is reporting that Israeli jets flew at a low altitude over the country’s third largest city, which is approximately 40km south of the capital Beirut.

The reported raids follow a flurry of Israeli activity in Lebanon and neighboring Syria. In the early hours of Sunday morning, an explosion hit a southern suburb of Beirut in what Hezbollah labeled an “Israeli drone attack.”

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 30 Aug 2019 11:23

UAE warplanes bomb Saudi-backed troops in southern Yemen after new advance
By News Desk -2019-08-295

Reuters file photo

BEIRUT, LEBANON (4:40 P.M.) – The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) air force carried out a series of airstrikes over southern Yemen on Thursday, targeting a number of sites belonging to the Saudi-backed Islah forces.

According to reports from southern Yemen, the UAE air force bombed the Islah forces in the port-city of Aden and several surrounding areas.

The UAE air force reportedly killed and wounded several members of the Islah forces during their aerial attack over the Aden District on Thursday.

This attack by the UAE air force comes just hours after the Southern Movement forces captured the town of Zanjabar in the Abyan Governorate.

Tensions between the Saudi and UAE-backed forces are running high after the Islah Party captured Aden from the Southern Movement on Wednesday.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/ua ... w-advance/

UAE taking panga against KSA now?

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 31 Aug 2019 21:40

Surprising turn of events. Shocking.

Yemen fighting brings Saudi-led coalition to brink of collapse

(CNN)Yemen's government and the United Arab Emirates are supposedly on the same side in the country's long-running conflict. But the government is now accusing the UAE of killing dozens of its troops in a series of airstrikes this week. And that's left the Saudi-led coalition that was formed to fight the Houthi rebels in disarray.
The government claims UAE aircraft bombed its troops amid another surge of fighting in the port of Aden, its last toehold in the country, killing 40 soldiers and civilians. It also said there had been airstrikes in neighboring Abyan province; the Defense Ministry put the total casualties at more than 300.
Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al Eryani tweeted that the airstrikes showed "the UAE's lack of acceptance of the [Yemeni] govt efforts to restore its institutions" and the future of relations between Yemen and the UAE was now at stake.

Wow! What a swing from even a year ago! The Houthis were all but driven out then, and facing genocide. 'Fess up, Putinji, haven't u sent Marshal Smirnoff incognito?

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 31 Aug 2019 21:47

More:

The government, which is in effect based in Riyadh, says its forces have now withdrawn from Aden and called on Saudi Arabia to "intervene to stop this blatant interference of supporting those militias and using aerial bombardment against our armed forces."
The UAE responded that it had carried out strikes against "terrorist militia" in Aden but made no mention of attacks against government forces. Michael Knights at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, who spent months embedded with UAE forces in Yemen, told CNN that the Emiratis "are not willing to accept al Qaeda-type elements mobilizing and offering their services to the government."

The Emiratis have armed and trained another group in Aden -- the Southern Transitional Council (STC) -- which controls much of the city and ultimately wants independence for south Yemen. They distrust one of the Saudis' key allies in Yemen, the Islah party, which is an Islamist movement.
In turn, the Yemeni government is now accusing the STC and the Houthis of working together to "force the government and national army into side-battles that benefit Iran and its tools in Yemen."
The fighting and the bitter war of words leave Saudi Arabia -- as the senior partner in the coalition -- with yet another headache. It launched "Operation Decisive Storm" more than four years ago after the Houthis took control of much of Yemen. But the Houthis remain in control of the capital and large areas of northern Yemen. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is entrenched in several provinces.
Efforts by the UAE and the Saudis to bring the government and the southern separatists to Riyadh for talks have so far come to nothing. Knights says one consequence is that the frontlines against the Houthis -- around the port of Hodeidah for example -- have been stripped of the best units, as both the government and the STC look to protect their positions in the southern provinces.
A strategic alliance
The partnership of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the two largest economies in the Arab world, is the closest anywhere in the Middle East. It is driven by antipathy towards Iran and support for Sunni causes across the Muslim world. The two states have spearheaded an embargo against Qatar for its support of the Muslim Brotherhood and its relationship with Iran and have been vocal supporters of the Trump Administration's sanctions against Iran.
Last year the two governments announced 44 joint strategic projects that included investment, infrastructure and security cooperation.
But cracks have begun to appear in this alliance. Last month, the UAE began a drawdown of its forces in Yemen, describing it as a long-planned redeployment.

While its military presence in Yemen was modest, the UAE punched above its weight. A senior Emirati official told CNN in July that the UAE had trained some 90,000 Yemeni fighters. Now the Saudis have twin challenges: to find a way to reverse Houthi gains and hold Yemen together, amid a desperate humanitarian crisis.
The rebels still control the capital and much of the north. They are capable of weekly missile and drone attacks against Saudi targets, thanks to assistance from Iran and possibly Hezbollah technicians.
A ground offensive by the Saudis would inevitably worsen the plight of civilians and its success would be far from guaranteed. The Houthis have proved themselves stubborn and well-organized fighters despite far inferior equipment.
The US has provided weapons and intelligence to the Saudi-UAE coalition in Yemen but may be growing weary of the quagmire. On Wednesday US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that "with most of these conflicts, they best end -- they often end -- in a political agreement. And we'll see if the parties are ready to move to that stage."

A State Department official told CNN in a statement: "We support a negotiated resolution between the Republic of Yemen government and the Southern Transitional Council, and efforts to mediate the dispute.
"Further divisions within Yemen will only increase the suffering of the Yemeni people and prolong the conflict," the official added.
Knights does not expect peace to break out any time soon. He says that neither "Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman nor the Houthis can come to the peace table until they can present it as a win; it's all about the optics."

Added to which, he says, the most important elements of the Houthis are benefiting from the war financially, and the internationally recognized government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi only has a role as the Saudis' main ally in Yemen. Were a UN transition to begin, Hadi would likely be out of a job.
For now it seems that only Yemen's suffering civilians are crying out for peace.

CNN's Tamara Qiblawi and Barbara "Encouragement for Village Idiots" Starr contributed to this report.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 31 Aug 2019 21:58

How did Putin get to the UAE to train 90,000 Houthis I wonder. A massive defeat and H&D flush will really shake MBS' gaddi, hain? Good thing they don't have elections, only executions, in KSA.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 02 Sep 2019 06:32

The uber-smart Saudi pilots bombed a PRISON where the Houthis had imprisoned pro-Saudi ppl. 100 killed

Code: Select all

The coalition said it had targeted a facility run by Houthi rebels that “stores drones and missiles”, but the rebels said the attack had levelled a building they used as a prison.
The ICRC rushed to the scene in the city of Dhamar with medical teams and hundreds of body bags.
“The location that was hit has been visited by ICRC before,” said Franz Rauchenstein, the committee’s head of delegation for Yemen. “It’s a college building that has been empty and has been used as a detention facility for a while. What is most disturbing is that [the attack was] on a prison. To hit such a building is shocking and saddening – prisoners are protected by international law.”
Rauchenstein said more than 100 people were estimated to be dead and at least 40 survivors were being treated for their injuries in hospitals in the city, south of the capital, Sana’a. ICRC teams collecting bodies were “working relentlessly to find survivors under the rubble”, he said, but cautioned that the chances of finding any were very slim.
Footage obtained by AFP showed heavy damage to the building and several bodies lying in the rubble, as bulldozers worked to clear away huge piles of debris.
The coalition intervened in 2015 to support the government after the Iran-aligned Houthis swept out of their northern stronghold to seize Sana’a and much of Yemen, one of the Arab world’s poorest nations.
Fighting since then has claimed tens of thousands of lives and sparked what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Both sides stand accused of actions that could amount to war crimes. The coalition has been blacklisted by the UN for the killing of children,