Saudi used cluster bombs in Yemen horse stable attack

The director of the Yemeni military academy in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa which was struck by Saudi coalition warplanes on Monday has said that internationally prohibited cluster bombs were used.

The attack hit the college’s stables, killing one horse trainer and injuring two others. The air strikes also killed 70 purebred Arabian horses and injured 30 others.

Brigadier General Mohammed Saleh Shaizer disclosed the details yesterday, stating “there are unexploded objects, left over from the bombing remnants, which are still present in the stables of horses, to indicate the magnitude of the crime.”

“The aggression coalition warplanes after 1pm on Monday waged three raids on the stables of horses, launching four rockets in the first raid, four missiles in the second, and two missiles in the third raid, all of them directly targeted hangers that harbour horses,” he added.

READ: Houthi government in Sanaa warns that masks airdropped by Saudis are infected with Covid-19 

Mahdi Al-Raimi was named as the horse trainer killed in the raids.

Yemen Press Agency has reported that medical personnel and veterinarians are working together to extract shrapnel from the wounded horses.

The remaining horses have been transferred from the destroyed stables to a nearby site in order to speed up bringing food and medical supplies, as the warehouse storing horse feed was also destroyed.

The Saudi air strikes came after the Houthi-allied Yemeni military announced its “largest military operation” against the kingdom following Saturday’s missile strikes over the Saudi capital Riyadh and the southern border region.

Despite the escalations in violence amid UN calls for a ceasefire, Saudi has reportedly been holding daily talks with the Houthi forces and has invited representatives from the Sanaa-based National Salvation Government and the internationally recognised government in exile to meet in Riyadh.

Senior Yemeni official has already thrown cold water on the idea of meeting for peace talks in #Riyadh.

Has to be done via UN not via Saudi.

The trust doesn't exist and #Yemen sees #Saudi as the problem, not solution.https://t.co/Z4dTHF08ad

— Robert Carter (@Bob_cart124) March 31, 2020

However, a member of the Houthi movement’s Political Bureau, Abdulmalik Al-Ajri has dismissed the idea of holdling peace talks with the Saudis, pointing to the continued aggression of the coalition.

READ: Houthi forces retake military base as they surround Marib