Saudi-led coalition denies air strike on Yemen prison that killed dozens
- Saudi Arabia said it didn’t attack a prison in Yemen’s Saada region on Friday
- Escalation comes after Houthis claimed a drone and missile attack on Abu Dhabi
Claims the coalition ordered the raid, which reduced buildings to rubble and left rescuers scrabbling for survivors with their bare hands, were “groundless”, the alliance said.
The Friday attack, which coincided with a coalition strike on the Yemeni port of Hodeida that killed three children and knocked out the impoverished country’s internet, was condemned by UN chief Antonio Guterres.
But “these claims adopted by the militia are baseless and unfounded”, said coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki, referring to the Iran-backed rebels.
Last week witnessed a dramatic upswing in the conflict that has already killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions, creating what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The rebels took the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting the Saudi-led intervention - supported by the US, France and Britain - in March 2015. It was intended to last just a few weeks.