#OnThisDay Saudi Arabia-led coalition attacks on Old Sana’a killing innocent Yemeni civilians

Old City, Sanaa//
On September 18, at 11:30 p.m., an airstrike hit Sanaa’s Old City and killed 13 civilians, including two women and seven children, and wounded at least 12. It destroyed one home and severely damaged seven others. UNESCO, the UN cultural organization, declared the Old City a World Heritage Site in 1986 because of its 6,000 houses and 100 mosques built before the 11th century. UNESCO added the Old City to its 2015 List of World Heritage in Danger.

Adel al-Maswari, 19, said he was home eating dinner with 10 family members at the time of the attack. He said that he first heard a plane and then an explosion, and the room filled with dust and ash. The munition had exploded about 20 meters away and sent metal fragments through the house. Al-Maswari and his relatives ran outside, where they saw many other people and heard screaming. It was only after a few minutes that he saw that the home of his neighbor Hafth Allah al-Aini had been hit and the building was in ruins. All 10 immediate members of the al-Aini family, ages 4 to 38 years, died in the attack. Houthi officers came to help rescue any survivors, Al-Maswari said.
were hoping to turn into a shop front. I first saw one of them, Yahya – he had lost all the skin on his right arm to the bone. I tried to pick him up around his waist, but my hands went straight through him. He had a big cut in his neck, which we wrapped a scarf around to try to stop the bleeding.


Al-Asaba, 35, died that day.

Al-Jalal said that 14-year-old Qatin Saleh Al-Rawahi had a metal fragment in his abdomen and his legs seemed to be bent together. He died two days later. Isam Yehya Asabah, 25, was lying a few meters away. He died a week later. All the Old City residents Human Rights Watch interviewed said there were no military targets in the Old City. Those interviewed said that residents do not allow heavy weaponry to be brought into the Old City. The cluster of houses is off the road, so there would be no passing military vehicles. However, during the visit, when a plane flew overhead, researchers heard three bursts of fire from anti-aircraft guns close by.

Pic depicts the destruction of Old Sanaa by HRW
The Old City of Sana’a destroyed by airstrikes Pic by HRW

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