Saudi Coalition Systematically Targets Bridges in Yemen

Since the US-backed Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, the coalition has regularly targeted civilian infrastructure. A report from the Yemeni Archive published on Wednesday documented 131 instances of bridges being hit by airstrikes in Yemen between 2015 and 2019.

In several of these cases, the bridges were hit more than once or “double-tapped,” meaning the destruction was deliberate. “These are not random attacks,” Abdulrahman al-Jaloud, project director of the Yemeni Archive, told DW. “What we see is that these attacks are systematic.”

The report found over 100 civilians were killed directly by the airstrikes on the bridges. The strikes have caused millions facing extreme hunger to be blocked from medical services. “Many of these attacks block road networks between cities and ports, disrupting the transport of humanitarian aid and food supplies,” the report reads.

More than half of the population of Yemen relies on aid to survive. On Tuesday, the UN said child malnutrition has soared in Yemen this year and warned that nearly 100,000 children in areas of the country controlled by the Saudi-backed government of ousted President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi are at risk of dying.

The situation is likely much worse in areas of northern Yemen controlled by the Houthis, where the Saudi blockade is much tighter. Earlier this year, the US suspended most aid for Yemenis living in these areas.

Throughout the war, the Saudi-led coalition has regularly hit other civilian targets, including farms, fishing boats, markets, schools, and residential areas. Despite this pattern of indiscriminate bombing, the US continues to supply weapons to the Saudis.