Protests after Yemeni funeral home allegedly targetted by Saudi strikes

SBS World News Radio: Thousands of people have protested on the streets of the Yemeni capital Sana'a angry at a bombing of a funeral procession that killed at least 140 people.

Protests after Yemeni funeral home allegedly targetted by Saudi strikesProtests after Yemeni funeral home allegedly targetted by Saudi strikes

Protests after Yemeni funeral home allegedly targetted by Saudi strikes

It is Arabic for, "God is great, and death to America and Israel, and a curse on the Jews and victory for Islam."

It was the sound of angry Houthi Yemenis as they marched to the United Nations building in Yemen's capital Sana'a.

They carried banners reading, "We condemn the UN's silence on the crimes of the Saudi and American aggressors."

One demonstrator, Abdel Kareem Al-Matari, says the United Nations has blood on its hands.

"Today, we are denouncing the silence of the UN about what happened yesterday, the massacre in the capital Sana'a. And this silence is a shame and disgrace for you. You, the UN, because of your silence, this shame and disgrace will be on you forever."

Houthi leader Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi was present.

And Yemen's ousted president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, is calling for more attacks on Saudi Arabia's border.

The Houthis are outraged a funeral could be targeted at all, let alone with such force.

The United Nations says the death toll will continue rising.

About 525 people were listed as wounded after the deadliest single attack in Yemen's civil war.

Injured survivor Marwan Al-Farzaai recounted what happened at the funeral.

"We were in the room delivering our condolences to the Interior Minister, and, when we had finished paying our respects, they hit us, the Saudis hit us, with a rocket, and we were injured. And it only got worse when they continued with a total of four air strikes."

Saudi Arabia denies any role in an air strike.

But a list of 16 senior military casualties indicates why the funeral may have been a tempting target.

Injured survivor Hasaan Nagi says he never imagined a funeral could be a target.

"We were sitting on the side of the room, on the cushions, we were sitting not even imagining that they could hit us, and the strike hit the door, and the second floor fell nearly on top of us. And then the whole structure fell, of course. I was injured in the first hit, and, of course, I was praying to God. And then a part of the metal roof started to fall on me, and, before I knew it, my leg had been cut off."

Saudi Arabia's coalition says it will investigate what it calls "the regrettable and painful bombing."

But demonstrator Waleed Al-Hebabi says there is little faith in that.

"We call for the forming of an international, independent committee to investigate the crimes of the Saudi aggressors, the crimes they have committed against the Yemeni people, and the latest of these crimes is the mother of them all."

Saudi Arabia intervened in March last year to support the internationally recognised government against the Houthi rebels.

It is part of a broader proxy war with Iran, which supports the Houthis.

The United States says it is reviewing its relationship with the Saudi-led coalition.

Peter Salisbury of Chatham House's Middle East and North African program is calling for small steps towards a ceasefire.

"By this point, it has become very clear that the major parties to the conflict don't have that much of an interest in stopping fighting. And what I, along with a lot of other analysts, have been suggesting for sometime is an attempt to build localised ceasefires, build ceasefires from the ground up in key areas where the war is taking place, while the US and the UK, at the very least, get the Saudi-led coalition to limit their aerial campaign to the front lines of the war."

Saudi Arabia has also been carrying out live fire war games in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil route.

Iran has warned the Saudis to stay away from Iranian waters.


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