A Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in Yemen has been hit by an airstrike which killed 11 people, becoming the fourth attack on an MSF facility in less than 12 months.
Abs hospital in northwest Yemen, which has been supported by MSF since July 2015, was hit yesterday at 15:45 local time by an airstrike orchestrated by a Saudi-led coalition. At least 11 people have been killed, including an MSF staff member, and 19 injured.
Five patients remain hospitalised and the hospital has been partially destroyed. All the remaining patients and staff have been evacuated.
Teresa Sancristóval, desk manager for the emergency unit in Yemen, said: “This is the fourth attack against an MSF facility in less than 12 months.
"Once again, today we witness the tragic consequences of the bombing of a hospital. Once again, a fully functional hospital full of patients and MSF national and international staff members, was bombed in a war that has shown no respect for medical facilities or patients.”
MSF is active in 11 hospitals and health centres, and providing support to another 18 hospitals or health centres in eight governorates: Aden, Al-Dhale’, Taiz, Saada, Amran, Hajjah, Ibb and Sana’a governorates. More than 2,000 MSF staff are currently working in Yemen, including 90 international staff.
Oxfam, Save the Children, Care, Handicap International, Mercy Corps and Intersos condemned the attack and jointly called for an independent investigation into it.
Sajjad Mohammad Sajid, Oxfam Yemen country director, said: "This was a horrific attack killing sick and injured people and the medical staff desperately trying to help them. The world cannot continue to turn a blind eye as the most vulnerable suffer in this terrible conflict. We urge all parties to the conflict to reach a political solution to stop the violence and put an end to the bloodshed."
Edward Santiago, Save the Children's Yemen country director, said: "The Saudi Arabia-led Coalition claims to have taken measures to prevent and end grave violations against children but they are clearly not working if children continue to be killed and injured and schools and hospitals attacked."
