Saudi Airstrike Kills 10 Civilians in Northern Yemen Capital

Attacks Targeted Area Around Government Building

Adding to the civilian death toll of nearly a half year of Saudi airstrikes against Yemen, 10 more civilians were reported killed in the capital city of Sanaa, when an attack against the Waalan District, aimed at a government building and the surrounding area.

According to the reports from the scene, seven of the 10 people slain were members of the same family, a common situation when airstrikes target residential areas. 16 other civilians were killed in airstrikes over the weekend.

The Shi’ite Houthis have held Sanaa since late last year, and former President Hadi resigned in January. The Saudis declared war in March, vowing to reinstall Hadi in power, and have been demanding that the Houthis disarm and surrender all cities in the country as a condition for talks.

Pro-Saudi forces currently control the southern city of Aden, which they’ve announced will be their “temporary” capital city, though as the war drags on it looks increasingly like Yemen is splitting along a north-south line for a long-term, and many of the allies of the Hadi government are flying the flag of old South Yemen.

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.