United States fully responsible for Saudi massacre of Yemeni children: Houthi

The chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee of Yemen, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, has vehemently condemned a recent deadly airstrike by Saudi warplanes on a bus carrying schoolchildren in the country’s northwestern province of Sa’ada, stating that the United States bears full responsibility for the carnage.

“We hold the United States of America, the Commander-in-Chief of the Saudi-led military alliance against Yemen, and all those who are serving at the coalition, whether they are of Saudi, Emirati or British nationalities, accountable for the massacre in Dhahyan as well as all previous crimes against the Yemeni people,” Houthi said in a speech at a funeral ceremony for the victims of the massacre in the northern city of Sa’ada on Monday.

He added, “America is indeed killing Yemeni children and women. Saudi Arabia is attacking our country under the tutelage of the United States. It would have been impossible for Saudi and American officers in the command center of the Saudi-led coalition to perpetrate the recent slaughter if they had not received the green light from the US State Department. It is the United States that has granted Saudis the right to liquidate their opponents.”

A boy injured in Thursday's Saudi airstrike lies on a hospital bed in Sa’ada, Yemen, on August 11, 2018. (Photo by Reuters)

Houthi further noted that the appalling massacre of children in Yemen is a repetition of the atrocities that Americans committed against Japanese people during World War II.

The high-ranking Yemeni official then hailed the military might of Yemeni rocket units, stressing that it has sent chills up the enemies’ spine.

He said Yemeni ground, naval and air forces will continue their operations against aggressors to convey the message of Yemenis’ resilience and steadfastness.

Houthi then expressed his gratitude to all freedom-loving people who commiserated with the Yemeni nation over the carnage in Sa’ada.

Boys inspect graves prepared for victims of Thursday's Saudi airstrike in Sa’ada province, Yemen, on August 10, 2018. (Photo by Reuters)

The airstrike on Thursday hit a bus carrying a group of young schoolchildren attending summer classes of the Holy Qur’an from a summer camp in a busy market area, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement.

According to Yemeni medical sources, 50 people were killed and 77 injured in the strike.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said a hospital it supports in Sa’ada province had received 29 bodies of “mainly children” younger than 15, and 40 injured, including 30 children.

The United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has censured the attack, calling for “an independent and prompt investigation” into the incident.

Some 15,000 Yemenis have been killed and thousands more injured since the onset of the Saudi-led aggression on Yemen in March 2015.

Boys demonstrate outside the offices of the United Nations in Sana’a, Yemen, on August 13, 2018 to denounce last week’s Saudi airstrike that killed dozens, including children, in the northwestern province of Sa’ada. (Photo by Reuters)

The United Nations says a record 22.2 million Yemenis are in need of food aid, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger.

A high-ranking UN aid official has warned against the “catastrophic” living conditions in Yemen, stating that there is a growing risk of famine and cholera there.

“The conflict has escalated since November, driving an estimated 100,000 people from their homes,” John Ging, UN director of aid operations, told the UN Security Council on February 27.