bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

More than 100 people are believed to have been killed in an air strike by the Saudi-led military coalition on a detention centre in Yemen, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Sunday.
The coalition said it targeted a facility run by the Houthi rebels that “stores drones and missiles”, but the rebels said the attack had levelled a building they used as a prison.
The ICRC rushed to the scene in the city of Dhamar with medical teams and hundreds of body bags.
“The location that was hit has been visited by ICRC before,” Franz Rauchenstein, its head of delegation for Yemen, said from Dhamar.




“It’s a college building that has been empty and has been used as a detention facility for a while.”
“What is most disturbing is that (the attack was) on a prison. To hit such a building is shocking and saddening – prisoners are protected by international law.”
Rauchenstein said that over 100 people were estimated to be dead, and that at least 40 survivors were being treated for their injuries in hospitals in the city, south of the capital Sanaa.

The coalition intervened in 2015 to support the government after the Iran-aligned Houthis swept out of their northern stronghold to seize Sanaa and much of Yemen – the Arab world’s poorest nation.
Fighting since then has already claimed tens of thousands of lives and sparked what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Both sides stand accused of actions that could amount to war crimes.
The coalition has been blacklisted by the UN for the killing of children, while Saudi Arabia and its allies accuse the Houthis of using civilians as human shields in densely populated areas.
Before the ICRC’s comments, the coalition had insisted the strike was conducted against “a military compound which was a legitimate military target”.
‘They tie your hands to a pole, then the sodomising starts’: detainees in Yemeni prisons reveal rampant sexual torture
It said secondary explosions indicated the building was used to store weapons and that the Houthis were masking its identity by “claiming it was a secret prison”.
“This is a traditional Houthi tactic and a violation of the laws of armed conflict. This site was not registered with the United Nations (and) was not on the No Strike List,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said in a statement.


The coalition earlier said that it “took all precautionary measures to protect civilians”.
But Houthi television channel Al-Masirah said dozens had been killed and wounded in seven air strikes that hit the building.
“The enemy targeted prisoners on purpose in Dhamar, many of whom were preparing to be released under a prison swap deal,” Houthi rebel chief Abdelmalek al-Houthi said in a televised speech on Sunday.
In Yemen’s secret prisons, torturers literally grill prisoners over flames, and US interrogates
The attack in Dhamar comes weeks after a new front opened in Yemen’s complex war, pitting two of Riyadh’s allies against each other in a struggle for control of the south.
The United Arab Emirates, a key member of the coalition backing the Yemeni government, has also trained and supported secessionists who seek an independent southern Yemen.
The southern forces last month seized control of the interim capital Aden in the south, in a see-sawing battle with government troops that has drawn warnings that the country could break apart entirely.
The government has accused the UAE of backing a “coup”.
Analysts say the fight for the south is a key test for Saudi Arabia, which hopes to mediate a ceasefire so it can focus on its main mission of battling the Houthis who are aligned with its arch foe Iran.


Israel strikes ‘chemical weapons’ in Syria after Assad’s fall

Violence at sea: how armed attacks on the high seas affect mariners

Saudi Arabia executes more than 100 foreigners in 2024

Yemeni soldier kills 2 Saudi troops in rare insider attack amid US strikes

Yemen

‘Shocking’ Saudi-coalition air strike kills more than 100 at Yemen prison

Red Crescent medics walk next to bags containing the bodies of victims of Saudi-led air strikes on a detention centre in Dhamar, Yemen. Photo; Reuters

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / A first responder searches for bodies of victims from under the rubble of a destroyed building that was used as a detention centre by Yemen's Huthi rebels which was hit by an air strike of the Saudi-led coalition, in Dhamar south of the Huthi-held capital Sanaa on September 1, 2019. - The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said it launched air strikes against a Huthi military target south of the capital Sanaa, in an attack the rebels alleged killed dozens of people. (Photo by - / AFP)

‘They tie your hands to a pole,  then the sodomising starts’: detainees in Yemeni prisons reveal rampant sexual torture

A drawing of a detainee being abused at a prison in Yemen run by the United Arab Emirates. Photo: AP

This undated photo obtained by The Associated Press shows a drawing of a prisoner being abused at a prison in Yemen run by the United Arab Emirates. Arabic from right to left reads: “Anti-terrorism," "Innocent citizen," and “Real terrorism behind their back, they don’t look at.” The AP has identified at least five secret prisons run by the UAE, a key U.S. ally, where security forces use sexual torture to brutalize and break inmates. (AP Photo)

EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT - This undated photo obtained by The Associated Press shows a drawing prisoners being abused at an Emirati-run prison in Yemen. The Arabic reads: “A rough drawing for sexual harassment or torture by the coalition, with the excuse of searching (detainees) while filming and posting.” The drawing, made on a plastic plate with ink pen, is one of several drawings and letters smuggled out of the prison that describe torture practices witnessed or endured by the artist. (AP Photo)

This undated photo obtained by The Associated Press shows a drawing of prisoners being transported in a pickup truck to an Emirati-run prison in Yemen. The Arabic reads: “This is how they transport the prisoners from and to the coalition. Blindfolded and handcuffed in the back of a Land Cruiser pickup in large numbers as if they are animals and under gunpoint.” (AP Photo)

EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT - This undated photo obtained by The Associated Press shows a drawing of a prisoner being abused at an Emirati-run prison in Yemen. The Arabic reads: "naked after beating." Emirati officers are sexually torturing and abusing hundreds of Yemeni men held without trial in secret prisons run by the United Arab Emirates, a key U.S. ally. (AP Photo)

EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT - This undated photo obtained by The Associated Press shows a drawing of abuse at an Emirati-run prison in Yemen. The Arabic reads: "hanging in the air, electrocuted." Emirati officers are sexually torturing and abusing hundreds of Yemeni men held without trial in secret prisons run by the United Arab Emirates, a key U.S. ally. (AP Photo)

This undated photo obtained by The Associated Press shows a drawing of a prisoner being abused at an Emirati-run prison in Yemen. Arabic reads: "forcing against the wall." Emirati officers are sexually torturing and abusing hundreds of Yemeni men held without trial in secret prisons run by the United Arab Emirates, a key US ally. (AP Photo)

In Yemen’s secret prisons, torturers literally grill prisoners over flames, and US interrogates

A former detainee shows how he was kept in handcuffs and leg shackles while held in a secret prison at Riyan airport in the Yemeni city of Mukalla. He covered his face for fear of being identified and detained again. Photo: AP

Prisoners lie in a newly renovated cell in Aden Central Prison, known as Mansoura, in this May 9, 2017 photo in Aden, Yemen. Another, closed section of the prison is part of a network of secret detention facilities run by the United Arab Emirates and its Yemeni allies, into which hundreds arrested on suspicion of al-Qaida links have disappeared. Some have been flown to an Emirati base in the nearby Horn of Africa, and some have been interrogated by American officials, witnesses said. (AP Photo/Maad El Zikry)

A renovated building in Aden Central Prison, known as Mansoura, is shown in this May 9, 2017 photo in Aden, Yemen. Another, closed section of the prison is part of a network of secret detention facilities run by the United Arab Emirates and its Yemeni allies, into which hundreds arrested on suspicion of al-Qaida links have disappeared, without charges or word to their families. Former prisoners say torture is widespread, and some detainees have been flown to an Emirati base in the nearby Horn of Africa. (AP Photo/Maad El Zikry)

A Yemeni man describes how his son was detained by Yemeni forces allied to the United Arab Emirates who raided his home in the southern village of Abr Lasloum in this May 9, 2017 photo. He asked that his identity be obscured, fearing reprisals. Many families have been searching desperately for loved ones who are among hundreds arrested by anti-terror forces over the past year and believed to be held in secret prisons around southern Yemen. Former prisoners report widespread abuse and torture. (AP Photo/Maad El Zikry)

A deserted cell in the public section of Aden Central Prison is shown in this May 9, 2017 photo in Aden, Yemen. A separate, closed wing is run by Yemeni allies of the United Arab Emirates, part of a network of secret prisons in southern Yemen into which hundreds of people have disappeared after being detained in the hunt for al-Qaida militants over the past year. Some have been shipped off to a UAE base across the Red Sea in Eritrea. Former detainees say torture and abuse are widespread.(AP Photo/Maad El Zikry)

News

World

Middle East


International Committee of the Red Cross reveals death toll after air assault in Dhamar
The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed a site storing drones and missiles



The attack was the deadliest so far this year by the Saudi-led coalition, which has faced international criticism for air strikes that have killed civilians.


‘Shocking’ Saudi-coalition air strike kills more than 100 at Yemen prison

International Committee of the Red Cross reveals death toll after air assault in Dhamar The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed a site storing drones and missiles

International Committee of the Red Cross reveals death toll after air assault in Dhamar

The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed a site storing drones and missiles