Dozens dead as dairy plant bombed in war-torn Yemen
2 April 2015 5:42 AM IST
Yemeni Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin called for the coalition to send ground troops, saying that “at some stage air strikes will be ineffective”.
Rights groups have voiced growing alarm about civilian casualties from the nearly week-old air war aimed at preventing the fall of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
At least 37 workers were killed and 80 wounded overnight at the dairy in the port city of Hodeida, provincial governor Hasan al-Hai said, without specifying whether the factory was hit by an air strike or rebel shelling.
The head of the provincial health authorities, Abdulrahman Jarallah, gave a toll of 35 people killed and dozens wounded.
Part of the factory was destroyed and rescue teams were looking for survivors under the rubble, according to a medic at a Hodeida hospital that received the casualties.
The circumstances of the bombing were unclear, with some witnesses saying the dairy was hit by a coalition air strike and others blaming rebel forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The Saudi-led coalition bombarded rebel positions early Wednesday in Yemen’s main southern city Aden in a seventh night of raids that also targeted the capital and other areas.
The Aden strikes were focused on the rebel-held provincial administration complex in Dar Saad in the city’s north, according to a military official.
He said there were “many dead and wounded” among the Huthi Shiite rebels but was unable to give
a precise toll.
The coalition has vowed to keep targeting the Huthis and allied army units loyal to Saleh until they end their insurrection.
Pakistan sends another plane to ferry stranded nationals from Yemen
Pakistan is sending another plane on Wednesday to bring back its nationals stranded in strife-torn Yemen, officials said. It is the second plane being sent after an earlier flight brought back about 500 people on the weekend.
According to an official of Civil Aviation Authority, the aircraft will go Djibouti where about 200 Pakistanis are being taken from Aden through a Chinese ship.
“The flight will return to Karachi tonight with 200 Pakistanis from Djibouti,” he said.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said the Pakistani nationals were asked to reach Aden from various places in Yemen and they will be evacuated by a Chinese naval ship to Djibouti by this evening.
Pakistan has instructed its ambassador in Ethiopia to personally set up a camp office in Djibouti to receive these Pakistanis, and organise their immigration, stay and return journey.
The Djibouti government also agreed to provide all required support. Pakistan also sent a naval ship to evacuate more Pakistanis from Aden. It is expected to dock in the open sea near Aden tomorrow.
According to officials the situation in Aden was precarious and small boats are used to carry the passengers from the port to the open sea and then boarded on the ships.
There were about 3,000 Pakistanis in Yemen at the start of the conflict and so far about 500 of them have returned home. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has already ordered authorities to safely retrieve all Pakistanis from Yemen.
Rights groups have voiced growing alarm about civilian casualties from the nearly week-old air war aimed at preventing the fall of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
At least 37 workers were killed and 80 wounded overnight at the dairy in the port city of Hodeida, provincial governor Hasan al-Hai said, without specifying whether the factory was hit by an air strike or rebel shelling.
The head of the provincial health authorities, Abdulrahman Jarallah, gave a toll of 35 people killed and dozens wounded.
Part of the factory was destroyed and rescue teams were looking for survivors under the rubble, according to a medic at a Hodeida hospital that received the casualties.
The circumstances of the bombing were unclear, with some witnesses saying the dairy was hit by a coalition air strike and others blaming rebel forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The Saudi-led coalition bombarded rebel positions early Wednesday in Yemen’s main southern city Aden in a seventh night of raids that also targeted the capital and other areas.
The Aden strikes were focused on the rebel-held provincial administration complex in Dar Saad in the city’s north, according to a military official.
He said there were “many dead and wounded” among the Huthi Shiite rebels but was unable to give
a precise toll.
The coalition has vowed to keep targeting the Huthis and allied army units loyal to Saleh until they end their insurrection.
Pakistan sends another plane to ferry stranded nationals from Yemen
Pakistan is sending another plane on Wednesday to bring back its nationals stranded in strife-torn Yemen, officials said. It is the second plane being sent after an earlier flight brought back about 500 people on the weekend.
According to an official of Civil Aviation Authority, the aircraft will go Djibouti where about 200 Pakistanis are being taken from Aden through a Chinese ship.
“The flight will return to Karachi tonight with 200 Pakistanis from Djibouti,” he said.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said the Pakistani nationals were asked to reach Aden from various places in Yemen and they will be evacuated by a Chinese naval ship to Djibouti by this evening.
Pakistan has instructed its ambassador in Ethiopia to personally set up a camp office in Djibouti to receive these Pakistanis, and organise their immigration, stay and return journey.
The Djibouti government also agreed to provide all required support. Pakistan also sent a naval ship to evacuate more Pakistanis from Aden. It is expected to dock in the open sea near Aden tomorrow.
According to officials the situation in Aden was precarious and small boats are used to carry the passengers from the port to the open sea and then boarded on the ships.
There were about 3,000 Pakistanis in Yemen at the start of the conflict and so far about 500 of them have returned home. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has already ordered authorities to safely retrieve all Pakistanis from Yemen.
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