In the
densely populated area of Sa’wan northeast of Yemen’s capital
city of Sana’a, a clouded sky framed the picturesque district as
students, including Maha, listened to an announcement that, because
of the fear of cholera spreading, their school would no longer be
providing students with lunch. With the noon hour approaching, the
picturesque sky would soon turn blood red as a Saudi aircraft
bombarded the area with a barrage of airstrikes.
A few
minutes later, a deafening explosion echoed throughout Sa’wan and,
when the thick black smoke finally began to dissipate, chaos, moans
and screams filled the grounds outside of the school. “Do not
worry, you will be fine,” a paramedic assured the first casualty he
stumbled upon. Her name was Maha Melhah Jar Allah, a fifth-grade girl
who took her last breath as she was being transferred into an
ambulance.
Maha was
one of at least 14 schoolchildren who were killed, along with at
least 104 injured, when Saudi airstrikes targeted a factory in close
proximity to schools, homes, and shops in Sa’wan on Sunday morning.
“At
11:30 a.m., Saudi warplanes targeted a neighborhood containing the
public Al-Ra’i school and the Al-Ahqaf school, a private school,
killing dozens of students,” Yemen Minister of Education Yahya
Badr al-Din al-Houthi told MintPress. “The Saudi
Coalition committed this crime with American missiles.”
“Everyone
was hysterical, some were crying and shouting in panic,” said
Fatehiya Kahlani, principal of Al-Ra’i. “The situation was
horrible, as the school has 2,100 students.” Al-Ra’i was
badly damaged in the airstrike and many students and teachers were
left with injuries from broken glass. The streets around the schools
have been transformed into a hellish scene, as many homes and shops
were partially destroyed in the attack.
Full
report:
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