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Equipos de rescate caminan entre los escombros de viviendas destruidas en una aldea, con una columna de humo al fondo
Imagen alusiva: labores de rescate entre escombros tras un bombardeo en Yemen. · EPM

Bombings in Yemen: Houthis raise Al Shariya death toll to 33

Houthi authorities raised to 33 dead and 39 wounded the toll from bombings attributed to the Saudi-led coalition against the village of Al Shariya, in Sanaa…

--- The context --- Yemen's civil war, begun in 2014, pits the Houthis, backed by Iran, against government forces supported by Riyadh. Since fighting resumed, the country is again recording episodes of high civilian mortality. According to the UN, more than 1.600 people have died and more than 300.000 have been displaced since hostilities resumed in this impoverished country. --- The facts --- Houthi authorities reported on Sunday that bombings attributed to the Saudi-led coalition against the village of Al Shariya, in Sanaa province, left 33 dead and 39 wounded. Anees Alasbahi, spokesman for the Houthi health ministry, detailed that, according to nearly final figures, the dead include 12 men, eight women and 13 children. The previous toll was 27 dead. The Houthi agency reported on Saturday that work continued to recover victims from the rubble and that aircraft attacked emergency teams twice. A channel linked to the group broadcast images showing smoke over a bombed site, piles of rubble and wounded people in a hospital. --- The positions --- On Friday, dozens of people died in a bombing against a market in Taiz, a city besieged for weeks by the Houthis, and government forces and Houthi fighters accused each other of that attack. In September, the Houthis launched an offensive in the west of the country that strengthened their control of the Bab el Mandeb strait, through which merchant ships from Asia bound for Europe transit. Since then, Saudi Arabia has bombed Houthi positions and they have responded with attacks on Saudi soil, including Riyadh's airport. --- What remains unknown --- There is no independent confirmation of the toll released by the Houthi authorities, who are a party to the conflict. Nor is responsibility established for the bombing of the Taiz market, the subject of mutual accusations. As long as recovery work continues amid the rubble of Al Shariya, the victim count could change. --- Unanswered questions --- Will there be independent verification of the Al Shariya victim toll? Who will answer for the bombing of the Taiz market and for the attacks on emergency teams? Can international pressure halt an escalation that, according to the UN, already leaves more than 1.600 dead and more than 300.000 displaced? --- EPM analysis --- The pattern repeats itself: each ground offensive draws an air response and each air response raises the civilian cost. Houthi control of Bab el Mandeb adds a risk that transcends Yemen, because part of the trade between Asia and Europe circulates through that strait. Without a credible mechanism of verification and protection, tolls will keep arriving from a single source and civilians will keep paying the bill for a war begun in 2014. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the toll reported by the Houthi authorities must be read with the caution that any unverified wartime figure deserves, but also with the gravity it warrants: the reported dead include women and children, and emergency teams were allegedly attacked while rescuing victims. When rescue work becomes a target, war loses every limit. The international community cannot limit itself to counting the dead: it must demand effective protection for Yemen's civilian population.
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