SANAA, Yemen, Sept 2 (NNN-SABA) – At least 130 prisoners were presumed dead, when a Saudi-led airstrike hit a detention facility in Yemen’s central province of Dhamar, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said, in a statement, on Sunday night.
“The facility held around 170 detainees and 40 them were being treated for injuries. The rest are presumed dead, though the death toll has not been confirmed.”
“It will likely take several days to locate all the bodies,” the statement added.
The statement came hours after an ICRC delegation travelled from the capital Sanaa, to the scene in Dhamar, to help remove bodies from the rubble and assist treating the injured.
“Witnessing this massive damage and seeing the bodies lying among the rubble were a real shock,” Franz Rauchenstein, head of the ICRC delegation, said.
The Houthis said that, the detainees who died were Yemeni government soldiers, captured during battles in several front lines. They added that, the detention facility’s location was known by the ICRC and the Saudi-led coalition.
The airstrikes took place before dawn on Sunday.
Dhamar is about 100 km south of the capital Sanaa. Both Dhamar and Sanaa, as well as, several other northern provinces have been under Houthi’s control, since late 2014, after they forced Yemeni President, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government into exile.– NNN-SABA
