Intisaf condemns Saudi massacre in Bani Hushaysh

The Intisaf Organization for Women and Child Rights condemned on Saturday the massacre committed by Saudi forces on Saturday in Al-Shariya village, Bani Hushaysh district of Sanaa Governorate, saying five homes including women and children were directly targeted and completely destroyed on top of their residents.

In a statement, the organization said Saudi warplanes repeatedly targeted gatherings of civilians, ambulance crews and media institutions three times while they were attempting to recover victims, and also bombed roads leading to the site to prevent aid from reaching it.

The initial toll stood at 22 killed, mostly women and children, and 30 injured, including an Al-Masirah TV cameraman who was carrying out his humanitarian and media duties.

The organization said targeting civilian homes and then striking paramedics and rescue teams constituted a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the four Geneva Conventions, amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity. It accused the international community of complicity through its continued silence.

The statement described the attack as a barbaric escalation aimed at exterminating the most vulnerable groups, particularly women and children, and held Saudi Arabia fully criminally responsible for the deaths and injuries and for the deliberate targeting of rescue and media teams at the scene.

It called on the United Nations, the Security Council and the World Health Organization to intervene urgently to halt the ongoing airstrikes and protect ambulance crews and civilians still trapped beneath the rubble.

The organization said the deaths of children and mothers in Bani Hushaysh and the remains of paramedics scattered beneath the skies filled with warplanes were a cry to the world’s dead conscience, pledging to continue documenting these violations and pursuing those responsible.