Death Toll Reaches 65 in Coalition's Ongoing Airstrikes in Sanaa

The number of victims in the residential area of Yemen's capital has reached 65. Women and at least six children under the age of 10 were killed in the Saudi Arabia-led airstrikes on Thursday morning.

SANAA (Sputnik) – The official death toll during airstrikes on residential areas in Yemen’s capital has reached 65, a representative from the local authorities told Sputnik on Thursday.

“The number of victims from the airstrikes to residential areas to the north of Sanaa and in Saada has reached 65 people, including women and children,” the representative said.

He said that rescue teams are continuing to remove people from destroyed buildings.

At least six children under the age of 10 were among the 25 people killed in the Saudi Arabia-led airstrikes on Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Thursday morning, Amnesty International said in a statement.

“This high toll of civilian deaths and injuries in these attacks raises concerns about compliance with the rules of international humanitarian law,” Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa Program Deputy Director Said Boumedouha stated on Thursday.

Boumedouha stressed that Saudi Arabian and any other armed forces carrying out airstrikes in Yemen are required to take all feasible precautions to spare civilians.

Amnesty International personnel confirmed the death toll with officials at four hospitals where the dead were taken to as well as with eyewitnesses, according to the statement.

The majority of those killed were men 30- to 40-years old, the organization specified. At least 20 people were injures by shrapnel.

More victims may still be buried beneath the rubble of 14 houses that were hit in a residential neighborhood near Sanaa’s international airport, the statement said.

Amnesty International underscored that the Houthi armed groups and Yemen’s armed forces also bear responsibility for protecting civilians from the effects of the attacks.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia announced the launch of a military operation against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Several other nations, including Bahrain, Qatar and Egypt, are participating in the Saudi-led airstrikes targeting the country’s capital of Sanaa.

Saudi Arabia is reportedly using around 100 fighter jets and 150,000 personnel in the military operation. The airstrikes target Yemen's infrastructure, including the government buildings and the Sanaa airport, but also hit residential areas.

in this neighbourhood north of sanaa many women and children were killed. pic.twitter.com/O1ZoxjVhkP

— Hussain Albukhaiti (@HussainBukhaiti) 26 Март 2015

Iranian Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the Saudi-led airstrikes, saying they violate intentional law and further aggravate the situation in the country creating obstacles in finding a political solution to the Yemeni internal conflict.

The Shiite Houthi group has taken control of large areas in Yemen, forcing President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and his government to resign in late January. After later escaping house arrest, he disavowed his resignation and fled to Aden in February.

Saudi air strikes against Houthi near Sanaa Airport on March 26, 2015,killed at least 13 civilians pic.twitter.com/Mu3yy9Svxe

— TajHydar Rizvi (@TajHydar) 26 Март 2015