Houthi: Death toll from prison attack rises to 156

A heavy duty machine conduct an operation after coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia organised an airstrike over a prison, in which Houthi Ansarullah movement members withhold its prisoners, in Dhamar, Yemen on September 01, 2019. [Mohammed Hamoud/Anadolu Agency]

Death toll from Sunday’s airstrike by Saudi-led coalition on a prison in southwestern Yemen climbed to 156, Houthi rebel group said on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reported.

The Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV cited the so-called Health Ministry of the Houthi administration as putting death toll at 156 after four days of recovering bodies from the debris.

It said 50 people were also injured in the airstrike.

On Tuesday, Houthi rebels said some 123 bodies had been recovered from the rubble of a prison in Dhamar city.

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UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths has condemned the airstrike and called the incident a “tragedy”.

The Saudi-led coalition maintains prisoners holed up by Houthi rebels are used as human shields.

Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when the Iran-aligned Houthi group overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

The conflict escalated the following year when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies launched a massive air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains in Yemen and supporting the country’s pro-Saudi government.

More than 70,000 people have been killed in the raging conflict since 2016, according to UN estimates.

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