Animal rights groups issued statements on Tuesday condemning Saudi Arabia’s Monday airstrikes against the Yemeni capital city of Sanaa, and in particular, the strikes against the horse stable at the military college.
While the Saudis see it as a “legitimate military target,” the stable strike was more of a horse massacre, with at least 70 of them killed in the attack, and a number of others badly wounded. Images of slain horses were published online after the attack.
Images of Arabian horses blown to bits were yet another PR disaster for the Saudis, who over the past five years have been heavily condemned for the airstrikes in Yemen, and the impact on innocent bystanders.
The Saudi argument of legitimate targets is based on it being a military site, but killing 70 horses doesn’t exactly jibe with claims that the targets “threaten civilian lives,” as at no point in the Yemen War have horses been a factor.
Animal Rights Groups Slam Saudis for ‘Horse Massacre’ in Yemen
Saudi airstrikes killed an estimated 70 horses
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.
Join the Discussion!
We welcome thoughtful and respectful comments. Hateful language, illegal content, or attacks against Antiwar.com will be removed.
For more details, please see our Comment Policy.
