World

Saudis probe ‘heinous' airstrike that kills 140 mourners at funeral hall in Yemen

People inspect the aftermath of a Saudi-led coalition airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen on Saturday. Picture by Osamah Abdulrhman, Associated Press
People inspect the aftermath of a Saudi-led coalition airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen on Saturday. Picture by Osamah Abdulrhman, Associated Press People inspect the aftermath of a Saudi-led coalition airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen on Saturday. Picture by Osamah Abdulrhman, Associated Press

AN airstrike that hit a funeral hall packed with thousands of mourners in Yemen's capital has killed more than 140 people, with more than 525 injured.

Nasser al-Argaly, the Health Ministry's under secretary, blamed the Saudi-led coalition for the air strike in Sanaa, which one rescuer said turned the site into a "lake of blood".

Jamie McGoldrick, the United Nations humanitarian co-ordinator in Yemen, said the humanitarian community in the country was "shocked and outraged" by the strikes and called for an immediate investigation.

He condemned the "horrific attack" and reminded all parties to the conflict "that under international humanitarian law, they are obliged to protect civilians and civilian infrastructures".

"The international community must exert pressure and influence on all parties to the conflict to ensure civilians are protected," McGoldrick said. "This violence against civilians in Yemen must stop immediately."

He said initial reports from health officials in Sanaa indicated more 140 people were killed and more than 525 injured.

The incident has prompted the US to initiate an immediate review of its already reduced support for the Saudi-led coalition, White House national security council spokesman Ned Price said.

Yemeni security and medical staff said the dead and wounded included military and security officials from the ranks of the Shiite Houthi rebels fighting the internationally-recognised government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, as well as the Houthi's allies, loyalists of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Among those killed was Major General Abdul-Qader Hilal, head of the capital's local council, according to the officials.

Saturday's funeral was for Sheikh Ali al-Rawishan, father of Galal al-Rawishan, the interior minister in the rebel-led government. Galal Al-Rishwan was seriously wounded in the attack.

In the aftermath of the strike, hundreds of body parts were found strewn in and outside the hall. Rescuers collected them in sacks. The strike left the building little more than a shell, with most of its walls and roof gone. Cars parked outside were mangled by the blast.

"The place has been turned into a lake of blood," said one rescuer, Murad Tawfiq.

Ambulances rushed to the site to ferry the wounded to hospitals. In radio broadcasts, the Health Ministry summoned off-duty doctors and called on residents to donate blood. Rescuers, meanwhile, sifted through the rubble in search of more casualties, but a fire that erupted hindered their work.

The international humanitarian community rushed to provide trauma kits, blood bags and medical supplies, and deployed medical staff to local hospitals, Mr McGoldrick said.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthis' spokesman in Sanaa, angrily denounced the air strike as the latest act of "genocide" by the Saudi-led coalition.

"The silence of the United Nations and the international community is the munition of the murderers," he said. "Those murderers will not escape divine justice."

America has been backing the Saudi-led coalition, but Mr Price said the US was "deeply disturbed" by the reports on the funeral hall air strike which "if confirmed, would continue the troubling series of attacks striking Yemeni civilians".

He warned that US security cooperation with Saudi Arabia "is not a blank cheque".

"In light of this and other recent incidents, we have initiated an immediate review of our already significantly reduced support to the Saudi-led coalition and are prepared to adjust our support so as to better align with US principles, values and interests, including achieving an immediate and durable end to Yemen's tragic conflict," Mr Price said.

The Saudi-led coalition backs President Hadi's government which, together with its own allies, is fighting the Houthis and Saleh loyalists in a civil war that broke out in 2014.

About 3,799 civilians have been killed since the Saudi-led air campaign began in March last year, according to a recent report by the UN's human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein.

The UN and rights groups estimate the conflict has claimed the lives of at least 9,000 people and displaced nearly three million more in the Arab world's poorest country.

According to the report, coalition air strikes were responsible for 60% of civilian deaths over a year-long span starting in July last year. Just under one-quarter - 475 - civilian deaths were attributed to rebel forces like those loyal to President Saleh, and another 113 to affiliates of al Qaida and the Islamic State group.

Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood said he would be raising the matter with the Saudi ambassador.

"I am deeply concerned by reports of an air strike hitting a funeral hall in the Yemeni capital Sanaa yesterday. The scenes from the site are shocking.

"I am raising my concerns with the Saudi ambassador to London today and urge the Saudi-led coalition's announced investigation into the incident to take place as a matter of urgency.

"There can be no military solution to this conflict. We urge all sides to recommit to political talks and to implement a cessation of hostilities."