On Saturday, the airstrike hit a funeral ceremony in Sanaa. According to UN estimates, the attack claimed over 140 lives and left more than 525 people wounded, while media suggested that 213 people may have been killed. The Saudi-led Arab coalition denied allegations of the Houthi rebels that it was involved in the incident.
“The negotiations will not resume while massacre is being committed in the capital Sanaa. We will not have a dialogue while our people are being killed, we will not have a dialogue with the UN special envoy [for Yemen] while the massacre continues,” Saeed said.
According to Saeed, the airstrike “crossed the boundaries of morality and humanity.”
Last peace talks between the Houthi rebels and Yemeni government, which took place in Kuwait in August, failed. The delegation of Houthi rebels has been stuck since then in Oman after the Saudi-led coalition blocked the aircraft with the Houthi delegation trying to return to Yemen.
Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government headed by Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Houthi rebels, the country’s main opposition force. Since March 2015, the Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf countries has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request despite a ceasefire agreed shortly before.