Saudi Airstrikes Hit Yemen Refugee Camp, 45 Civilians Killed

Hundreds Wounded in Attack in Hajjah Province

Saudi warplanes attacked the al-Mazzrak refugee camp in Yemen’s Hajjah Province today, killing at least 45 civilians and wounding some 200 others, according to aid workers on the ground.

Saudi officials were quick to deny responsibility for the killings, and declared that the Houthis they are at war with inexplicably attacked the camp. This was in spite of Saudi officials bragging only yesterday they’d destroyed every warplane in Yemen.

Doctors Without Borders and other aid groups confirmed that the attack was indeed an airstrike, and there seems no serious doubt it was a Saudi strike, just the latest in an air campaign that is increasingly targeting civilians.

The Saudis began attacking Yemen last week, promising to reinstall Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi as ruler, after Hadi resigned in January and fled the country. Some 150,000 Saudi troops are massed at the border, though the timing of a ground invasion remains unclear.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.