Airstrike on Yemen prison claimed over 70 lives, injured several others

What happened: On Jan 21, Yemen’s long-running conflict saw 70 people killed and over 138 injured in an air raid on a detention centre in Saada, which comes under the hold of the Houthi organisation in northwestern Yemen. Details: Al-Jazeera reported that following the attack on the temporary detention center in Saada, the Houthis posted footage showing rescue workers retrieving bodies from the rubble. According to Taha al-Motawakel, the Houthi government’s health minister, who oversees the country’s north, predicted that the death toll will grow because many of the injured were critically damaged. At least three children were killed in the air raid, according to the UK-based charity Save the Children. It added in a statement that “the children were apparently playing on a nearby football field as missiles targeted the port town of Hodeidah.” What else: The Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen denied carrying out the air strike in a statement on Jan 22. The coalition further claimed that the site was not on a UN-approved list of targets to avoid, and that the Red Cross had not notified it. What you need to know: Since 2015, Saudi-led coalition forces have been fighting Houthi insurgents. As a direct result of the war, tens of thousands of civilians have been killed or injured, including over 10,000 children.

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