Airstrikes on hospitals in Yemen

A Saudi Arabian-led military intervention in Yemen began in 2015, in an attempt to influence the outcome of the Yemeni Civil War. Saudi Arabia, spearheading a coalition of nine Arab states, began carrying out airstrikes in neighbouring Yemen and imposing an aerial and naval blockade on 26 March 2015, heralding a military intervention code-named Operation Decisive Storm^[1] (Arabic: عملية عاصفة الحزم `Amaliyyat `Āṣifat al-Ḥazm). More than 70 health facilities in Yemen have been destroyed by a series of airstrikes conducted by the Saudi Arabian-led coalition since March 2015. Many of these have been public health hospitals staffed or supported by Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Critics of the assaults say the airstrikes are war crimes in violation of the protections of health care facilities afforded by the internationally recognized rules of war and have called for independent investigations.

• Doctors Without Borders reported that a Saudi Arabian-led coalition airstrike had completely destroyed the Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in Saada, in northwestern Yemen, including the operating room. The first strike hit an unused part of the hospital, so the facility was completely evacuated at once. There were no direct casualties. However, a spokesman for the coalition forces, Brig-Gen Ahmed al-Asiri, disclaimed responsibility for the attack.^[2]

"With the hospital destroyed, at least 200,000 people now have no access to lifesaving medical care", MSF said. "This attack is another illustration of a complete disregard for civilians in Yemen, where bombings have become a daily routine," said Hassan Boucenine, MSF head of mission in Yemen. The GPS coordinates of the only hospital in the Haydan district were regularly shared with the Saudi-led coalition, and the roof of the facility was clearly identified with the MSF logo, he said.^[3] However, Abdallah al-Mouallimi, the Saudi ambassador to the United Nations, said the coordinates were inaccurate, although he admitted that the airstrike was "a mistake".^[4]

The UNICEF said the hospital in Saada was the 39th health center hit in Yemen since March, when the violence escalated. MSF reports that the Saudi-led coalition, supported by the British military, has been bombing hospitals across Yemen for the past 10 months. As many as 130 health facilities have been hit. "More children in Yemen may well die from a lack of medicines and healthcare than from bullets and bombs," its executive director Anthony Lake said in a statement. He added that critical shortages of fuel, medication, electricity and water could mean many more will close. Amnesty International said the strike may amount to a war crime and called for an independent investigation.^[5][6]

• On December 3, 2015 an airstrike by the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen hit a health center in Taiz, wounding nine people. Two hospital staff were among the wounded. "The bombing of civilians and hospitals is a violation of international humanitarian law," said Jerome Alin, head of MSF head of mission in Yemen.^[7][8]
• on January 10, 2016, Shiara Hospital, supported by MSF in Razeh district, Saada Governorate, Northern Yemen, was hit by a projectile and shrapnel from the Saudi-led coalition. Six people died and another 7 were injured, including three MSF staff, two of them in critical condition. Several buildings at the medical facility collapsed after the attack,^[9][10][11] although the critical areas of the hospital were not destroyed. The rocket hit a corridor leading from the main gate to the hospital buildings, with a metal fence alongside. The wounded were hit by shrapnel from the missile, and also by shards of metal from the fence. The injuries were brutal. Vickie Hawkins, Executive Director of MSF-UK, said, "... there is a risk that "errors" in war situations will become normalised—just as "collateral damage" has been normalised in people’s minds since the first Gulf War. This would provide the perfect alibi for armies to shrug off accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. It perpetuates impunity.^[12]
• On August 15, 2016, after the collapse of a UN-sponsored cease-fire, an airstrike by the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen destroyed a hospital operated by Yemen's Ministry of Health and supported by MSF and UNICEF in Abs District, Hajjah Governorate in northwestern Yemen. The bombardment struck the hospital's triage area near the emergency room and killed at least 19 and wounded 24 people.^[13][14] At the time of the attack, there were 23 patients in the surgery ward, 25 in the maternity ward, 13 newborns and 12 patients in the pediatric ward, MSF said. The hospital had a 14-bed emergency room, a maternity unit and a surgical unit.^[15] Hospital staff were among the dead and wounded. “There were no armed people there,” a witness said. The hospital was reportedly treating child victims of another airstrike on a school in the town of Haydan, in neighboring Saada province, in which 10 children died and another 30 were wounded, all between the ages of 8 and 15 years.^[16][17] MSF has now withdrawn its staff members from Haydan, Razeh, Al Gamouri and Yasnim hospitals in Saada governorate and Abs and Al Gamouri hospitals in Hajjah governorate.^[18] Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, condemned the attack in a statement, emphasizing that antagonists in the Yemen conflict had damaged or destroyed more than 70 health facilities since the hostilities began 17 months ago.^[19]

See also

• Kunduz hospital airstrike
• Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen

References

1. Al Arabiya|"Saudi warplanes bomb Houthi positions in Yemen", Al Arabiya (25 March 2015))
2. "Yemen conflict: MSF hospital destroyed by air strikes", BBC News (27 October 2015)
3. "MSF hospital in Yemen bombed by airstrike", Xinhua (2015-10-28)
4. Samuel Oakford, "Exclusive: Saudi Arabia Admits Bombing MSF Hospital in Yemen — But Faults MSF", Vice on line (October 27 2015)
5. Noah Browning, "Yemeni MSF hospital bombed, Saudi-led coalition denies responsibility", Reuters (October 27 2015)
6. "Doctors Without Borders says Saudi-led airstrikes bomb Yemen hospital", Associated Press (October 28, 2015)
7. Yemen: Nine Wounded in Saudi-Led Coalition Airstrike on MSF Clinic in Taiz (December 3 2015).
8. "MSF-Supported Hospital Bombed in Northern Yemen", MSF (Update January 11 2016).
9. Kareem Fahim, "Hospital Aided by Doctors Without Borders Is Bombed in Yemen", New York Times (January 10 2016)
10. Mark Tran, "Four patients among dead after explosion at hospital in Yemen", The Guardian (January 10, 2016).
11. Adam Withnall, "Attacks on hospitals mean people in Yemen are now too scared to go for treatment, MSF says", The Independent (January 19, 2016).
12. "Yemen: Even in War, Hospitals Should Be "Places of Refuge And Healing", MSF (January 19 2016).
13. Noah Browning and Tom Brown, "Airstrike Hits Doctors Without Borders Hospital in Yemen", Scientific American. On line, n.d.
14. "Yemen: Death Toll Rises to 19 in Airstrike on MSF-Supported Hospital", MSF (August 16, 2016)
15. Gul Tuysuz and Steve Visser, "Airstrike hits Yemen hospital, kills 14, aid group says" CNN, August 16 2-16)
16. Nabih Bulos, "At least 11 dead as airstrike hits Doctors Without Borders hospital in northern Yemen", Los Angeles Times (August 15 2016). On line.
17. "At least 11 dead after Saudi-led coalition bombs Yemen hospital", The Guardian (August15 2016). On line.
18. "MSF Evacuates Staff from Six Hospitals in Northern Yemen", MSF (August 18 2016)
19. Shuaib Almosawa and Rod Nordlandaug, "Bombing of Doctors Without Borders Hospital in Yemen Kills at Least 15", New York Times (August 15 2016). On line.