Saudi Warplanes Destroy MSF Hospital in Yemen

At Least Two Staff Hurt in Attacks

Adding to concerns about Saudi attacks on civilians in Yemen, an overnight air raid against the capital city of Sanaa pounded a residential district, hitting several homes, a girl’s school, and destroying a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hospital.

MSF reported the facility was struck multiple times and left in “wreckage.” The first strike hit the operations theater of the hospital, which fortunately was empty at night, and the staff had enough time to evacuate for the most part before a second missile went careening into the maternity ward.

Two MSF staffers were wounded, but there appear to have been no deaths in the hospital strike, though casualties out of the surrounding area are so far not certain. This is the second MSF facility destroyed in an airstrike this month, after the US destroyed one in Afghanistan.

MSF reported they’d provided the coordinates of all facilities in Yemen to the Saudi-led coalition two weeks ago, specifically for fear that the wreckless air campaign would mistakenly hit them.  MSF says that whatever the circumstances, the strike amounts to a war crime.

Saudi officials, as usual, are offering no real details, and after silence on the matter for most of the day they issued a blanket denial, insisting their were no airstrikes anywhere near that district, even though several were reported in the area and the Saudi coalition is the only one launching airstrikes.

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.