‘The death toll following Saudi coalition airstrikes targeting the presidential in the densely populated neighborhood of Al-Tahrir in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, has risen to more than 90 people, including schoolchildren, according to a statement to MintPress by an official from Yemen’s Ministry of Health. Local hospitals received 86 injuries, but rescuers are still struggling to retrieve bodies from the rubble, so the number of victims could rise.
The destruction in Tahrir, the second largest residential and commercial area in Sana`a, was extensive. Two airstrikes hit the building, located near a hotel, a bank and several shops, and not far from the central bank, which was bustling with employees at that time.
The principal of the Gamal Abdel Nasser School, close to the presidential compound, told MintPress that a number of students sustained injuries, adding that the huge blasts threw students into a sudden panic, prompting school authorities to suspend ongoing exams.
Yemen’s official Saba news agency, citing an unnamed security source, said the Saudi-led coalition intentionally bombs crowded places during rush hour to inflict more casualties.
The attack came hours after up to 60 air raids were launched by the Saudi coalition Sunday night in residential districts in Sana`a, Hodeida, and Sa`ada, killing and injuring a number of civilians. In Sa’ada, in northern Yemen, five family members were killed after Saudi aircraft bombed a residence in the district of Baqim. Two more civilians were killed in Saudi strikes on the al-Jarahi district in Hodeidah. In Hajjah, which has been bombed 10 times over the past 24 hours, there is still no word on the number of possible casualties.’
