CAIRO – An airstrike by a U.S.-backed Saudi-led military coalition struck a Doctors Without Borders hospital in northwestern Yemen on Monday, the latest bombing of a civilian site since a peace deal between the nation’s warring factions collapsed last week.
Abs Hospital, located in the country’s Hajjah governorate and supported by the international medical charity, was targeted by the warplanes at 3:45 p.m. local time, Doctors Without Borders said in a statement. The number of casualties was not yet known, although reports on social media suggest there could be as many as 20 people killed or wounded.
“MSF is currently assessing the situation to ensure the safety of patients and staff,” read a statement from the aid agency, using the acronym for its French name, Medecins Sans Frontieres. “Medical teams are assisting the wounded, and the number of casualties is still unknown. We will provide more information as it becomes available.”
The hospital has been supported by the charity since July 2015, and since then more than 4,600 patients have received treatment at the facility.
The bombing comes two days after a Saudi-led coalition airstrike targeted a Koranic school in an enclave of the northern city of Saada, killing 10 children and wounding 28 more. All were between the ages of 6 and 15, according to Doctors Without Borders, whose staff members treated the victims at its facility there.
Saudi Arabia’s military said that Saturday’s airstrike hit a militia training camp, but it offered no evidence for its claims. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia on Monday’s strike.
(c) 2016, The Washington Post ยท Sudarsan Raghavan
