Sana’a — A military coalition led by Saudi Arabia Thursday rejected allegations over an air raid in Yemen’s rebel-held capital Sana’a, which witnesses said left six members of the same family dead.
Neighbours told AFP the strike on the two-storey house took place at around 9pm local time on Wednesday.
“Following our review of this alleged incident, we find all these allegations to be unfounded,” coalition spokesman Turki Al Maliki said in a statement to AFP.
Ahmad Hazem Al Samri told AFP an air strike on his house killed his father, two women and three children.
“There was an air strike on the house. My father and rest of the family were inside,” said Samri, adding he had been out for the evening at the time of the attack in the Shamlan district, northwest Sana’a.
“Six of them were killed and seven wounded.”
But Al Maliki insisted the coalition was committed to preventing civilian casualties.
“I would like to reiterate that coalition forces adhere to rules of engagement and international humanitarian law to avoid loss of civilian lives,” he said.
Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a military intervention in Yemen in 2015 with the aim of rolling back the Iran-allied Al Houthi rebels who had seized the capital and restoring the internationally recognised government to power.
