Saudi Warplanes Attack Yemen Market, Killing 45 Civilians

Planes Doubled Back to Attack Rescue Workers

Saudi warplanes launched multiple airstrikes against a marketplace in the Yemeni capital city of Sanaa today, killing at least 45 civilians and wounding some 50 others, the latest in a long series of strikes against civilians in Shi’ite territory in Yemen.

According to witnesses, the Saudi warplanes used a double-tap technique to kill as many people as possible, hitting the marketplace and then returning not long thereafter to attack rescue workers crowded around the site of the first strike.

The Saudis have come under growing criticism in recent months for massive numbers of strikes against civilian targets across Yemen during the war, and had announced not long ago that they intended to bring in US and British advisers to help them lower the number of civilian deaths.

So far though, the pace of attacks on obviously civilian targets doesn’t appear to have slowed in the least, and Saudi officials appear to be focusing their talking points not on defending themselves from criticism, but on claiming they’re gaining territory around the capital.

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.