Dubai: The Saudi-led coalition and Yemen’s internationally-recognised government said Tuesday the Iran-backed Al Houthi militia was behind a strike on a market that killed at least 14 civilians, contradicting earlier claims by Al Houthis who claimed the coalition was to blame for the attack.
The statement, sent to reporters by Yemen’s Embassy in Washington, said Al Houthis launched Katyusha rockets at the al-Thabet market and then attempted to deflect blame by accusing the Saudi-led coalition for Monday’s early morning attack.
Al Houthis control much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sana’a, which they overran in late 2014.
Coalition spokesman Col. Turki Al Maliki told The Associated Press in a statement that Al Houthis carried out the attack in “an act of vengeance and pure spite”, allegedly because of the Yemeni “people’s loyalty and heroic stances” against the militia.
Children were among those killed in the attack, which also wounded 27 people.
The Saudi-led coalition has been at war against Al Houthis since 2015 in a war that has killed tens of thousands of people. The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives, thrust millions to the brink of famine and spawned the world’s most devastating humanitarian crisis.
