MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st September, 2019) The Saudi-led coalition denied on Sunday claims made by Yemen's rebel Houthi movement that its recent airstrike had hit a prison, media reported, citing the coalition's spokesman.
Earlier in the day, the coalition announced that it had hit a Houthi military facility in Dhamar that housed drones and air defense systems. The Houthi-controlled Almasirah tv channel reported, however, that the coalition had hit a prison, killing 60 and injuring 50 others.
According to Col. Turki Maliki, as cited by the Al Arabiya news outlet, the coalition's airstrike targeted a Houthi military base, not the prison, and had undertaken all necessary precautions in accordance to international law to protect civilians during the attack. The coalition had concrete evidence that it had not targeted civilian facilities, the media added.
Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces, led by President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, and the rebel Houthi movement for several years now. A Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015. The conflict has resulted in a massive humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country.
