People inspect the wreckage of buildings that were damaged by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes, in Sanaa, Yemen, Jan 18, 2022. (HANI MOHAMMED/AP)
SAADA/NEW YORK, Yemen – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen on Friday that reportedly killed at least 60 people in a detention center in the Houthi-held Saada province.
A Reuters witness said several people, including African migrants, died in the attack. Guterres' spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said further deadly air strikes had been reported elsewhere in Yemen with children among those killed.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said further deadly air strikes had been reported elsewhere in Yemen with children among those killed
"An airstrike on telecommunications facilities in Hodeidah has also significantly disrupted vital internet services across much of the country," Dujarric said in a statement. "The Secretary-General calls for prompt, effective and transparent investigations into these incidents to ensure accountability."
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Save the Children said in a statement that three children were reportedly killed in the western city of Hodeidah.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen denied targeting a detention center in Yemen's Saada province, saying the facility hit was not a site restricted from strikes, the Saudi official news agency SPA reported on Saturday.
"The coalition will inform the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Yemen (OCHA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on the facts and details," the state news agency said, citing a coalition spokesman.
It said the report of dozens of deaths on Friday would be investigated "using an internationally approved, independent process."
The coalition has been fighting the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen since 2015. It has intensified air strikes on what it says are Houthi military targets after the group carried out an unprecedented assault on coalition member the United Arab Emirates on Monday and further missile and drones launches at Saudi cities.
During a news conference earlier on Friday, Guterres said: "This escalation needs to stop."
Dujarric said Guterres reminds all parties that they are obliged to "ensure that civilians are protected against the dangers arising from military operations, adhering to the principles of proportionality, distinction and precaution."
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The UN Security Council condemned the Houthi attack on the UAE and other sites in Saudi Arabia in a statement on Friday after a closed-door meeting, requested by the UAE. The UAE joined the 15-member council this month for a two-year term.
Asked about the air strikes on Yemen on Friday, UAE UN Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh told reporters: "The coalition undertake to abide by international law and proportionate response in all its military operations."